Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 466,753 Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 77.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 137,559 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 466,753 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Veeco Instruments worth $3,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VECO. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 257.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $263,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 54.9% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,009 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 3,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,589 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,835 shares during the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

VECO traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.31. 1,032,203 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 749,210. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.57 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company's fifty day moving average price is $19.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.39. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.92 and a 52-week high of $49.25.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $167.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.00 million. Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 9.38%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VECO. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.43.

Veeco Instruments 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.