Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 271,470 Shares of Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) by 21.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,553,271 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 271,470 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Onto Innovation were worth $258,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Onto Innovation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 209.4% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 164 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake 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 during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Onto Innovation in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Onto Innovation in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. 98.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Onto Innovation Trading Up 1.4 %

Onto Innovation stock opened at $123.03 on Wednesday. Onto Innovation Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.16 and a 1-year high of $238.93. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.66. The company has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 827 shares of Onto Innovation stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was 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 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 150,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,986,341.48. This trade represents a 18.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 85,827 shares of company stock valued at $18,182,185 in the last 90 days. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ONTO. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Onto Innovation from $245.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Onto Innovation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.88.

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.