Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Grows Stock Position in Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) by 41.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,515,152 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 444,860 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned 3.07% of Onto Innovation worth $252,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Onto Innovation during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Onto Innovation by 209.4% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 164 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 532.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 234 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Onto Innovation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Onto Innovation during the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

Onto Innovation Price Performance

NYSE:ONTO opened at $133.13 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a PE ratio of 32.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29. Onto Innovation Inc. has a 1-year low of $121.47 and a 1-year high of $238.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $168.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.59.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Onto Innovation had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 20.43%. Equities analysts anticipate that Onto Innovation Inc. will post 6.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Onto Innovation from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Onto Innovation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Onto Innovation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $169,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,120,715. This represents a 5.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 20,000 shares of Onto Innovation stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.19, for a total value of $4,003,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 215,492 shares in the company, valued at $43,139,343.48. This trade represents a 8.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 85,827 shares of company stock valued at $18,182,185 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Onto Innovation Profile

Onto Innovation Inc engages in the design, development, manufacture, and support of process control tools that performs optical metrology. The company offers lithography systems and process control analytical software. It also offers process and yield management solutions, and device packaging and test facilities through standalone systems for optical metrology, macro-defect inspection, packaging lithography, and transparent and opaque thin film measurements.