Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO - Free Report) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,051 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Onto Innovation were worth $1,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 304.9% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 447,844 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $98,329,000 after purchasing an additional 337,250 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in Onto Innovation by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,072,796 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $222,670,000 after purchasing an additional 295,869 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Onto Innovation by 811.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 319,116 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $66,236,000 after buying an additional 284,115 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,008,399 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $416,863,000 after buying an additional 228,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Onto Innovation by 1,296.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 217,190 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $45,079,000 after buying an additional 201,640 shares during the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Onto Innovation Price Performance

NYSE ONTO traded up $3.50 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $216.52. 754,116 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 593,143. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.72. The company has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.29. Onto Innovation Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.15 and a 1 year high of $238.93.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The semiconductor company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $252.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.85 million. Onto Innovation had a return on equity of 13.38% and a net margin of 19.44%. Onto Innovation's revenue for the quarter was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Onto Innovation Inc. will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 827 shares of Onto Innovation stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,120,715. This trade represents a 5.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.19, for a total value of $4,003,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Onto Innovation from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Onto Innovation from $245.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.75.

About Onto Innovation

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.