Aristotle Capital Boston LLC Has $18.80 Million Position in Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO

Key Points

• Aristotle Capital Boston boosted its position in Veeco by 41.6%, acquiring an additional 181,670 shares to hold 617,933 shares worth about $18.80 million (≈1.03% of the company).
• Institutional ownership is very high at 98.46%, led by large holders like Vanguard (7.66M shares, ~$233.2M), indicating heavy institutional interest in Veeco.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed-to-positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a $28.17 target (Citigroup raised its target to $40), while CEO William John Miller sold 50,000 shares at about $31.62, reducing his stake by 10.76%.

Aristotle Capital Boston LLC increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 617,933 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 181,670 shares during the quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC owned approximately 1.03% of Veeco Instruments worth $18,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VECO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Veeco Instruments by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,663,310 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $233,195,000 after purchasing an additional 62,016 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,396,804 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $69,023,000 after purchasing an additional 157,978 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,215,031 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $65,329,000 after buying an additional 284,716 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,481,803 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $75,521,000 after buying an additional 26,248 shares during the period. Finally, Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY increased its position in Veeco Instruments by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY now owns 2,410,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $48,971,000 after buying an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Veeco Instruments from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.17.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

VECO stock opened at $30.95 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.82. The company has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.46 and a beta of 1.17. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.92 and a 52-week high of $35.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veeco Instruments news, CEO William John Miller sold 50,000 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total transaction of $1,581,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,107,849.66. The trade was a 10.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

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.

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