FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO) Stock Holdings Lessened by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,681,781 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 9,474 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of FARO Technologies worth $42,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FARO. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of FARO Technologies by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 450,899 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $8,633,000 after buying an additional 19,005 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in FARO Technologies by 4.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 222,559 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $4,260,000 after purchasing an additional 10,228 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in FARO Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,562,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in FARO Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $3,144,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in FARO Technologies by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 78,101 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,981,000 after purchasing an additional 5,520 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.19% of the company’s stock.

FARO Technologies Trading Up 2.2 %

FARO Technologies stock opened at $25.40 on Friday. FARO Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $13.52 and a one year high of $33.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $28.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The company has a market capitalization of $482.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -72.57 and a beta of 1.55.

FARO Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.10. FARO Technologies had a negative return on equity of 2.49% and a negative net margin of 1.87%. The business had revenue of $93.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FARO has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut FARO Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 16th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of FARO Technologies from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Peter James Lau sold 4,617 shares of FARO Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.30, for a total value of $135,278.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 160,076 shares in the company, valued at $4,690,226.80. This trade represents a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Matthew Horwath sold 1,480 shares of the company’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 $43,364.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 39,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,155,299. This trade represents a 3.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,755 shares of company stock valued at $356,020 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

FARO Technologies Company 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.