Fisher Asset Management LLC Has $22.22 Million Holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 18.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 716,183 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 157,105 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.27% of Veeco Instruments worth $22,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,690,121 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $188,059,000 after purchasing an additional 450,685 shares in the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the 4th quarter worth $3,599,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the 4th quarter worth $875,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Veeco Instruments by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,569,885 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $44,129,000 after acquiring an additional 310,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Veeco Instruments by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 168,501 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,737,000 after acquiring an additional 9,090 shares in the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.10, for a total value of $170,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 67,278 shares in the company, valued at $2,294,179.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO William John Miller sold 24,201 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total transaction of $854,295.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 545,091 shares in the company, valued at $19,241,712.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.10, for a total value of $170,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 67,278 shares in the company, valued at $2,294,179.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VECO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Veeco Instruments from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.57.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Veeco Instruments stock traded up $1.12 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $37.49. The stock had a trading volume of 319,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 513,432. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -56.91 and a beta of 1.18. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.35 and a 1-year high of $37.75. The stock's fifty day moving average is $35.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.69.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The semiconductor company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $173.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.00 million. Veeco Instruments had a positive return on equity of 11.10% and a negative net margin of 4.56%. As a group, analysts predict that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Veeco Instruments

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.