Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 5,869 Shares of Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO)

Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) by 27.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,869 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,869 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.05% of Onto Innovation worth $4,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,166,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $861,040,000 after purchasing an additional 76,233 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Onto Innovation by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,192,238 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $365,380,000 after buying an additional 183,839 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Onto Innovation by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,553,271 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $258,883,000 after buying an additional 271,470 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 41.6% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,515,152 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $252,530,000 after acquiring an additional 444,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Onto Innovation by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,406,034 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $234,344,000 after acquiring an additional 356,161 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

Onto Innovation Stock Up 2.0 %

Onto Innovation stock opened at $120.40 on Friday. Onto Innovation Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.21 and a 52-week high of $238.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $143.57 and its 200 day moving average is $172.35. The company has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.65, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.46.

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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Onto Innovation Inc. will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 20,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 215,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,139,343.48. This represents a 8.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 827 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,120,715. The trade was a 5.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 85,827 shares of company stock worth $18,182,185. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on ONTO shares. StockNews.com upgraded Onto Innovation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $200.00 price target on Onto Innovation and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Onto Innovation from $245.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on Onto Innovation from $240.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Onto Innovation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.63.

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.