Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Stake Boosted by First Eagle Investment Management LLC

First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 450,298 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 62,300 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 0.79% of Veeco Instruments worth $12,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Veeco Instruments by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,864 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Veeco Instruments by 46.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,088 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Veeco Instruments by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,099 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 257.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 14,886 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Veeco Instruments Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of VECO stock traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.48. 514,739 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 676,229. The firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32 and a beta of 1.24. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.05 and a 1 year high of $49.25. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $24.58 and a 200 day moving average of $27.86.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 EPS 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%. Analysts expect that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other Veeco Instruments news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total value of $61,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,780,455.42. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on VECO. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.43.

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.