Advisors Asset Management Inc. Purchases 9,658 Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Astec Industries by 9.3% during the first quarter, now holding 113,293 shares worth approximately $3.9 million.
• Astec Industries reported earnings of $0.88 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates, but its revenue of $330.30 million fell short of expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.1% and a dividend payout ratio of 26.13%.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,293 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,658 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.50% of Astec Industries worth $3,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ASTE. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Astec Industries by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 113,556 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,912,000 after purchasing an additional 2,983 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Astec Industries by 5.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 96,932 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,339,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Astec Industries by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 64,219 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,158,000 after purchasing an additional 3,963 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in Astec Industries by 264.6% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Astec Industries by 98.8% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 361,390 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,450,000 after purchasing an additional 179,618 shares during the period. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astec Industries Stock Up 0.6%

ASTE opened at $47.28 on Friday. Astec Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.04 and a fifty-two week high of $47.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.71. The company has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.49 and a 200-day moving average of $38.84.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.28. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 11.52% and a net margin of 3.50%.The company had revenue of $330.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.00 million.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Astec Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Astec Industries has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ASTE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.