MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 726 Shares of Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT)

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) by 1.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 38,220 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 726 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Novanta were worth $6,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hardy Reed LLC bought a new position in Novanta during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $211,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Novanta by 34.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 20,054 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,588,000 after purchasing an additional 5,165 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Novanta by 127.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,436,000 after buying an additional 4,489 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp purchased a new stake in Novanta during the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in shares of Novanta by 2.1% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 289,473 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $51,792,000 after acquiring an additional 6,019 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Novanta from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Robert Buckley sold 1,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.45, for a total value of $200,479.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 120,419 shares in the company, valued at $21,729,608.55. This trade represents a 0.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $1,347,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,131,845.40. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,650 shares of company stock worth $2,956,686 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Novanta Price Performance

NOVT opened at $166.98 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $173.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.99. Novanta Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.35 and a 52-week high of $187.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 99.99 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.79.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.85. The business had revenue of $244.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $242.33 million. Novanta had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Novanta Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

About Novanta

Novanta Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides precision medicine and manufacturing, medical solutions, and robotics and automation solutions in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Precision Medicine and Manufacturing, Medical Solutions, and Robotics and Automation.