Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 152,870 Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 8.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,598,735 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 152,870 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 7.01% of Astec Industries worth $51,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ASTE. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 69.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Astec Industries during the first quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Astec Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $72,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $116,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 425.0% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Astec Industries Trading Down 1.5 %

ASTE traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $36.71. 32,209 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 149,913. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company's fifty day moving average price is $32.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.39. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The company had revenue of $291.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $312.90 million. Astec Industries had a positive return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 0.15%. Astec Industries's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.01) earnings per share.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Astec Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently -649.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASTE has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised Astec Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

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.