Advisors Asset Management Inc. Has $2.35 Million Position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 15.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,804 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 7,127 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.24% of Astec Industries worth $2,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASTE. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,531,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,984,000 after acquiring an additional 29,657 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position in Astec Industries by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,131,271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,083,000 after purchasing an additional 86,969 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Astec Industries by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 369,157 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,733,000 after purchasing an additional 14,126 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in Astec Industries by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 236,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,327,000 after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its position in Astec Industries by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 182,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,318,000 after purchasing an additional 10,808 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ASTE traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $35.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 160,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 158,470. The firm has a market capitalization of $802.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.33 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $31.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.94. Astec Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.46 and a fifty-two week high of $56.33.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.47). Astec Industries had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 7.44%. The business had revenue of $309.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $343.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is 47.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on ASTE shares. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $37.00 in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd.

Insider Activity at Astec Industries

In other news, insider Michael Paul Norris bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $33.46 per share, with a total value of $33,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $531,545.56. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Astec Industries

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.