The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Stock Position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 24.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,748,172 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 531,821 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 4.84% of Veeco Instruments worth $73,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 257.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 919 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 14,886 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 13,444 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. 272 Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 474,391 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $12,715,000 after purchasing an additional 1,799 shares during the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Veeco Instruments Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ VECO traded down $0.19 on Monday, reaching $19.48. 173,023 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 733,541. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.92 and a 12 month high of $49.25. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.98.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last released 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, research analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS 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.