Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO Shares Acquired by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 32.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,324,590 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 325,357 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 2.20% of Veeco Instruments worth $40,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 519,573 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $15,811,000 after acquiring an additional 9,240 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 920.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 676,502 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $20,586,000 after purchasing an additional 610,187 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Veeco Instruments by 27.7% during the third quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 72,212 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,197,000 after purchasing an additional 15,677 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Veeco Instruments by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,663,310 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $233,195,000 after purchasing an additional 62,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO William John Miller sold 25,000 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $800,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 464,543 shares in the company, valued at $14,865,376. This trade represents a 5.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Veeco Instruments Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:VECO opened at $32.47 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $31.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 55.03 and a beta of 1.17. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.92 and a 12 month high of $35.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 4.75 and a quick ratio of 3.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VECO shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.17.

Veeco Instruments 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.