Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 264,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 43,931 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Astec Industries were worth $8,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Astec Industries by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 569,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,180,000 after buying an additional 22,743 shares during the period. Harvey Partners LLC raised its holdings in Astec Industries by 101.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 282,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,007,000 after buying an additional 142,000 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Astec Industries by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 243,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,169,000 after buying an additional 9,635 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Astec Industries by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 215,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,888,000 after acquiring an additional 41,130 shares in the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Astec Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASTE opened at $35.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $812.28 million, a P/E ratio of -445.19 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $34.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.99. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.46 and a 1-year high of $44.74.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.46. Astec Industries had a positive return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 0.15%. The business had revenue of $359.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.10 million.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.68%.

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.