JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 79.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 101,287 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,701 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.44% of Astec Industries worth $3,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ASTE. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 569,089 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $18,180,000 after purchasing an additional 22,743 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 118.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,529 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 22,017 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Astec Industries by 319.1% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,045 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 12,217 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Astec Industries by 3.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 875,128 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,952,000 after acquiring an additional 26,256 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Astec Industries by 123.8% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 16,346 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 9,042 shares in the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ASTE shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Astec Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th.

Astec Industries Trading Down 1.3 %

ASTE stock traded down $0.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $35.19. The company had a trading volume of 37,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 159,301. The stock has a market cap of $802.47 million, a PE ratio of -440.69 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.37 and a 200-day moving average of $34.43. 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 $43.35.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $359.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was 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.