Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 84,202 Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 96.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 171,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 84,202 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.75% of Astec Industries worth $5,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Astec Industries by 100.8% in the first quarter. SG Capital Management LLC now owns 209,685 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,165,000 after purchasing an additional 105,280 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 251.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 96,480 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,217,000 after acquiring an additional 68,991 shares during the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 175,738 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,212,000 after acquiring an additional 51,141 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 581,500 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $17,247,000 after purchasing an additional 41,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Astec Industries by 72.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 73,229 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,172,000 after purchasing an additional 30,717 shares during the period. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

ASTE stock traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.39. 102,642 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 147,713. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Astec Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $44.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $737.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.72 and a beta of 1.27.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $345.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $332.35 million. Astec Industries had a positive return on equity of 6.56% and a negative net margin of 0.18%. The firm's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Astec Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.71%.

About Astec Industries

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.