Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Cuts Position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 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 about 1.16% of Astec Industries worth $8,902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ASTE. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Astec Industries by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 162,692 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,466,000 after buying an additional 28,378 shares in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Astec Industries by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $8,169,000 after purchasing an additional 9,635 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Astec Industries by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 110,573 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,715,000 after acquiring an additional 3,082 shares during the period. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Astec Industries by 196.1% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 27,671 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 18,325 shares in the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASTE has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised Astec Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASTE traded up $0.16 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.52. 97,713 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 149,327. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.46 and a 52-week high of $44.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.55 and a 200 day moving average of $34.09. 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 company has a market cap of $832.80 million, a PE ratio of -456.44 and a beta of 1.32.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $359.00 million during 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Astec Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 273.68%.

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.