Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 28,926 Shares of Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) by 76.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,680 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,926 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Onto Innovation were worth $12,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 17.8% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 102,103 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $18,586,000 after acquiring an additional 15,451 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new stake in Onto Innovation in the 4th quarter worth about $9,399,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Onto Innovation by 2,306.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,997 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 10,540 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Onto Innovation by 854.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 296,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $45,266,000 after purchasing an additional 265,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Onto Innovation by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 295,824 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $45,231,000 after purchasing an additional 79,530 shares in the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Onto Innovation Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Onto Innovation stock traded down $0.34 on Friday, hitting $188.80. 632,788 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 931,150. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $220.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.50. The company has a market cap of $9.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.19 and a beta of 1.39. Onto Innovation Inc. has a 12-month low of $105.58 and a 12-month high of $238.93.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The semiconductor company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.08. Onto Innovation had a net margin of 16.43% and a return on equity of 11.48%. The company had revenue of $228.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $222.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Onto Innovation Inc. will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ONTO. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Onto Innovation from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Onto Innovation from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Onto Innovation from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $265.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Onto Innovation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Onto Innovation news, CFO Mark Slicer sold 519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.21, for a total value of $114,807.99. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,776,627.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 1,486 shares of Onto Innovation stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $317,112.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 17,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,720,202.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Slicer sold 519 shares of Onto Innovation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.21, for a total transaction of $114,807.99. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,776,627.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Onto Innovation Company 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.