Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stake in Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,663,310 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,016 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.74% of Veeco Instruments worth $233,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VECO. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 7.4% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,111 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 14.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 234,639 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,140,000 after acquiring an additional 30,268 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 10.1% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 30,389 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $925,000 after purchasing an additional 2,790 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 20,513 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 6,220 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,999 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Veeco Instruments Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:VECO opened at $30.56 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 51.80 and a beta of 1.19. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.92 and a 52 week high of $35.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 3.20 and a current ratio of 4.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.35.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other Veeco Instruments news, CEO William John Miller sold 25,000 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $800,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 464,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,865,376. The trade was a 5.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VECO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.17.

Veeco Instruments Company Profile

Veeco Instruments Inc (NASDAQ: VECO) is a leading supplier of process equipment for the semiconductor, data storage, wireless communications, power electronics and advanced packaging industries. The company designs, manufactures and services precision tools used to grow, deposit and etch thin films on substrates, enabling the fabrication of chips, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and high-density storage devices. Veeco’s platforms are deployed across fabrication facilities worldwide, where they support key processes in materials science and device manufacturing.

Veeco’s product portfolio spans molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), ion beam etch and deposition, and high-precision wet and dry etch systems.