Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Shares Sold by Teton Advisors Inc.

Teton Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 97,500 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 15,000 shares during the period. Astec Industries comprises about 1.7% of Teton Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Teton Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.43% of Astec Industries worth $3,276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Astec Industries by 802.5% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 381,598 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,243 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Astec Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on ASTE. Robert W. Baird raised 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 upgraded Astec Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

Astec Industries Price Performance

ASTE stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $34.16. The company had a trading volume of 91,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 160,166. The business has a 50 day moving average of $34.28 and a 200 day moving average of $34.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $778.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -426.95 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Astec Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.46 and a fifty-two week high of $44.03.

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

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. 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.