Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Shares Sold by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 264,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 43,931 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.16% of Astec Industries worth $8,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Astec Industries by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 875,128 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,952,000 after acquiring an additional 26,256 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Astec Industries by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 569,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,180,000 after acquiring an additional 22,743 shares during the period. Harvey Partners LLC grew its stake in Astec Industries by 101.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 282,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,007,000 after acquiring an additional 142,000 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Astec Industries by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 243,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,169,000 after acquiring an additional 9,635 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in Astec Industries by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 215,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,888,000 after acquiring an additional 41,130 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of ASTE stock opened at $35.62 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $34.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $812.28 million, a P/E ratio of -445.19 and a beta of 1.32. Astec Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.46 and a fifty-two week high of $44.74.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $359.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.10 million. Astec Industries had a positive return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 0.15%.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ASTE. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th.

Astec Industries Profile

Astec Industries, Inc designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets equipment and components used primarily in road building and related construction activities worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Infrastructure Solutions and Materials Solutions. The Infrastructure Solutions segment offers asphalt plants and related components, heaters, concrete dust control systems, asphalt pavers, vaporizers, concrete material handling systems, screeds, heat recovery units, paste back-fill plants, asphalt storage tanks, hot oil heaters, bagging plants, fuel storage tanks, industrial and asphalt burners and systems, custom batch plants, material transfer vehicles, soil stabilizing-reclaiming machinery, blower trucks and trailers, milling machines, soil remediation plants, wood chippers and grinders, pump trailers, concrete batch plants, control systems, liquid terminals, storage equipment and related parts, construction and retrofits, polymer plants, and concrete mixers, as well as engineering and environmental permitting services.