American Century Companies Inc. Grows Stake in Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 98.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 361,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 179,618 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 1.58% of Astec Industries worth $12,450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Astec Industries by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 66.4% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 14,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Astec Industries by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Astec Industries by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,693 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.00.

Astec Industries Trading Up 0.2%

Astec Industries stock opened at $46.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13 and a beta of 1.43. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.04 and a 52 week high of $46.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.28. Astec Industries had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 11.52%. The company had revenue of $330.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.00 million.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is presently 26.13%.

Astec Industries Company 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.