Federated Hermes Inc. Buys 11,067 Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 73.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 26,062 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,067 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Veeco Instruments were worth $698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 257.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 919 shares during the period. 272 Capital LP bought a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the third quarter worth about $50,000. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,589 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 1,835 shares during the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

VECO opened at $18.34 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.89. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.92 and a 52-week high of $49.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 1.12. 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) last issued its 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on VECO shares. StockNews.com upgraded Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Benchmark cut their target price on Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Veeco Instruments has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.43.

Insider Transactions at Veeco Instruments

In other Veeco Instruments news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,780,455.42. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

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.