The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Boosts Stake in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 20.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,216,351 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 371,221 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 3.90% of Veeco Instruments worth $73,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VECO. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 4.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 170,187 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $5,706,000 after purchasing an additional 7,651 shares during the period. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the third quarter worth $3,702,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 40.5% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 751,003 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $24,880,000 after acquiring an additional 216,616 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 23.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 969,694 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $32,126,000 after acquiring an additional 185,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 37.3% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,175,759 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $38,953,000 after purchasing an additional 319,451 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 up $0.50 during trading on Thursday, hitting $27.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 602,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 660,039. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $30.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.62. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.47 and a beta of 1.17. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a one year low of $25.52 and a one year high of $49.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.01. Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 11.34%. The company had revenue of $184.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on VECO. StockNews.com raised shares of Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Northland Securities reduced their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $53.00 to $47.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.67, for a total value of $71,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,297,671.14. This trade represents a 3.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 7,500 shares of company stock worth $225,850 in the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.