Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 17,444 Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Astec Industries by 6.6% in the first quarter, owning approximately 1.23% of the company worth $9.73 million.
• Astec Industries reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.88, which exceeded analysts' expectations of $0.60, but revenue fell short of estimates at $330.3 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13, with an annualized yield of 1.1%, set to be paid on August 29th to stockholders recorded by August 11th.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 282,394 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,444 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.23% of Astec Industries worth $9,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 13,389 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,616 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $260,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Astec Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $1,552,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in Astec Industries by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,370 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,559,000 after acquiring an additional 5,841 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Astec Industries by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 14,039 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $41.00.

Astec Industries Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:ASTE traded down $0.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.29. The stock had a trading volume of 290,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 172,713. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26 and a beta of 1.43. The firm's fifty day moving average is $41.73 and its 200 day moving average is $38.30. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.04 and a 12 month high of $47.94.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $330.30 million for 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Astec Industries's dividend payout ratio is 26.13%.

Astec Industries 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.