Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $60.11 Million Holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,242,750 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 78,884 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 3.95% of Veeco Instruments worth $60,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Herald Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Herald Investment Management Ltd now owns 175,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,690,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,792,850 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $74,848,000 after acquiring an additional 152,201 shares during the period. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC grew its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 278.2% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 432,769 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $11,598,000 after buying an additional 318,345 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 76.6% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 128,249 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,437,000 after buying an additional 55,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the fourth quarter worth $835,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Benchmark reduced their target price on Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $35.00 target price (down from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VECO traded down $0.05 on Wednesday, reaching $19.14. 40,390 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 734,143. The company's 50 day moving average is $19.86 and its 200-day moving average is $24.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.98 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 1.13. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.92 and a fifty-two week high of $49.25.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.14). Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 9.38%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $61,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,780,455.42. The trade was a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Veeco Instruments Company Profile

Veeco Instruments Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, sells, and supports semiconductor and thin film process equipment primarily to make electronic devices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, China, Rest of the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company offers laser annealing, ion beam deposition and etch, metal organic chemical vapor deposition, single wafer wet processing and surface preparation, molecular beam epitaxy, advanced packaging lithography, atomic layer deposition, and other deposition systems.