Argent Capital Management LLC Makes New $437,000 Investment in Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO)

Argent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,624 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 232.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 113 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Onto Innovation by 675.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 124 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Onto Innovation by 532.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 234 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Onto Innovation during the third quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Onto Innovation by 62.0% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 324 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ONTO. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Onto Innovation from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Onto Innovation in a research note on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Onto Innovation from $245.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.75.

Insider Activity

In other Onto Innovation news, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 827 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 20,000 shares of Onto Innovation stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.19, for a total transaction of $4,003,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 215,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,139,343.48. The trade was a 8.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Onto Innovation Trading Up 4.4 %

NYSE:ONTO opened at $213.65 on Friday. Onto Innovation Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.79 and a 1-year high of $238.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.90, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $172.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.05.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $252.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.85 million. Onto Innovation had a net margin of 19.44% and a return on equity of 13.38%. Onto Innovation’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Onto Innovation Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

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.