KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes Position in Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 10,025 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,671,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ONTO. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 52.3% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,435 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Onto Innovation by 287.0% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 3,458 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in Onto Innovation during the third quarter worth about $125,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Onto Innovation by 644.3% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 50,782 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $10,937,000 after purchasing an additional 43,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Onto Innovation by 65.2% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 185,876 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $38,580,000 after purchasing an additional 73,380 shares during the period. 98.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ONTO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $200.00 target price on Onto Innovation and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Onto Innovation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $169,535.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,223 shares in the company, valued at $3,120,715. The trade was a 5.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.19, for a total value of $7,671,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,986,341.48. The trade was a 18.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 85,827 shares of company stock worth $18,182,185 over the last quarter. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Onto Innovation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ONTO opened at $121.99 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $164.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.83. Onto Innovation Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $120.68 and a fifty-two week high of $238.93. The company has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) last posted its 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 research analysts expect that Onto Innovation Inc. will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current year.

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.