Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Shares Sold by Montag A & Associates Inc.

Montag A & Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 50.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,402 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Veeco Instruments were worth $38,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 130.6% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the period. 272 Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Veeco Instruments by 46.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,088 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 498 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Veeco Instruments by 3,213.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 4,659 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.63, for a total value of $69,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,142 shares in the company, valued at $2,076,173.46. This represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VECO has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. 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 research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Benchmark reduced their price target on Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veeco Instruments presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.43.

Veeco Instruments Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ VECO opened at $24.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 3.54. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a one year low of $23.00 and a one year high of $49.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50 and a beta of 1.13.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last announced 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 11.34% and a return on equity of 10.92%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current year.

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.