FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO) Stake Reduced by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO - Free Report) by 50.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,085 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 61,989 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.32% of FARO Technologies worth $1,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FARO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of FARO Technologies by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 222,559 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $4,260,000 after purchasing an additional 10,228 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in FARO Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $213,000. Harvey Partners LLC raised its stake in FARO Technologies by 17.8% during the third quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 1,006,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $19,255,000 after buying an additional 152,000 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in FARO Technologies by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 396,830 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $7,595,000 after buying an additional 74,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Needham Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of FARO Technologies by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,029,250 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $19,700,000 after acquiring an additional 171,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other FARO Technologies news, CEO Peter James Lau sold 4,617 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.30, for a total transaction of $135,278.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 160,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,690,226.80. This trade represents a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Yuval Wasserman sold 5,658 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total transaction of $177,378.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 153,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,812,601.20. This represents a 3.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,755 shares of company stock valued at $356,020. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on FARO shares. StockNews.com cut FARO Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 16th. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of FARO Technologies from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of FARO Technologies from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

FARO Technologies Stock Performance

FARO traded down $0.92 during trading on Friday, reaching $23.89. 425,163 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 177,111. FARO Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.52 and a 52 week high of $33.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.27 and a 200 day moving average of $25.64. The stock has a market cap of $453.48 million, a P/E ratio of -68.26 and a beta of 1.54.

FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $93.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.40 million. FARO Technologies had a negative net margin of 1.87% and a negative return on equity of 2.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share.

FARO Technologies Profile

FARO Technologies, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and supports software driven three-dimensional measurement, imaging, and realization solutions worldwide. The company offers FaroArm, a combination of a portable articulated measurement arm, a computer, and CAM2 software programs; FARO Laser Tracker, a combination of a portable large-volume laser measurement tool, a computer, and CAM2 software programs; FARO Laser Projector, which provides a virtual template that operators and assemblers can use to position components; FARO Laser Scanning Portfolio to measure and collect a cloud of data points for 3D rendering of an object or area; and FARO Mobile Laser Portfolio provides 3D scanning while attached to other mobile devices, such as drones for metrology, reverse engineering, factory automation, building information modeling, public safety, and other applications.