Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 308,881 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 44,360 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Astec Industries were worth $9,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 1.9% in 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 during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Astec Industries by 72.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 73,229 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after buying an additional 30,717 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 31.9% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 86,899 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,577,000 after acquiring an additional 21,016 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Astec Industries by 7.7% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 581,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,247,000 after acquiring an additional 41,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 3.7% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Price Performance

Shares of ASTE opened at $38.06 on Tuesday. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.46 and a 52 week high of $44.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $867.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -475.69 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.54 and a 200-day moving average of $32.77.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.31. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The firm had revenue of $291.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $312.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.01) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -649.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ASTE. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd.

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.