Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Position Cut by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its position in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 29,489 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 4,898 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Veeco Instruments were worth $790,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Veeco Instruments by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,864 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 46.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,088 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $301,000 after buying an additional 901 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Finally, 272 Capital LP bought a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of VECO opened at $21.23 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.98 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $25.69 and its 200-day moving average is $28.87. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.85 and a 12-month high of $49.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12 and a beta of 1.13.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.14). Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 10.28%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,642 shares in the company, valued at $1,780,455.42. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VECO. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price target (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.