Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE Shares Bought by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. significantly increased its stake in Astec Industries, Inc. by 98.8%, owning 361,390 shares valued at approximately $12.45 million after acquiring an additional 179,618 shares.
• Various institutional investors have also raised their investments in Astec Industries, contributing to a total of 93.16% institutional ownership of the company's stock.
• Astec Industries recently reported earnings of $0.88 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 with a yield of 1.1%.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 98.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 361,390 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 179,618 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.58% of Astec Industries worth $12,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,326 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 66.4% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,165 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 14,039 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,693 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Astec Industries Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ ASTE traded down $0.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 290,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 172,713. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26 and a beta of 1.43. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $41.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.30. Astec Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.04 and a fifty-two week high of $47.94.

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

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. Astec Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.13%.

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.