Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Shares Bought by First Eagle Investment Management LLC

First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 245,851 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.08% of Astec Industries worth $8,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Astec Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company's stock.

Astec Industries Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of ASTE stock traded up $0.59 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.83. 149,284 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 148,476. The firm has a market capitalization of $839.87 million, a P/E ratio of -460.32 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $34.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.92. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.46 and a 52-week high of $44.74.

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Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Astec Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 273.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Astec Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report 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.