Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 569,089 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,743 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.50% of Astec Industries worth $18,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 1.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,684 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $45,637,000 after purchasing an additional 29,421 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Astec Industries by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 875,128 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,952,000 after buying an additional 26,256 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in Astec Industries by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 581,500 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $17,247,000 after buying an additional 41,800 shares during the period. Harvey Partners LLC boosted its position in Astec Industries by 101.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 282,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,007,000 after buying an additional 142,000 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Astec Industries by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 215,654 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,888,000 after acquiring an additional 41,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ASTE. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Astec Industries Trading Down 1.7 %

ASTE stock traded down $0.58 during trading on Friday, hitting $33.22. The company had a trading volume of 71,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 146,221. The stock has a market cap of $757.48 million, a PE ratio of -415.20 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $35.60 and a 200-day moving average of $33.08. 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 one year low of $28.46 and a one year high of $44.74.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The company had revenue of $291.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $312.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.01) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Astec Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -650.00%.

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.