21,180 Shares in Astec Industries, Inc. $ASTE Acquired by Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC

Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC bought a new stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 21,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,019,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASTE. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 539,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,510,000 after buying an additional 178,545 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 1,800.5% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 142,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,853,000 after acquiring an additional 134,896 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 77,508.8% in the second quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 131,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,500,000 after acquiring an additional 131,765 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Astec Industries by 29.9% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 494,814 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,629,000 after purchasing an additional 113,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Astec Industries by 188.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 148,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,111,000 after purchasing an additional 96,883 shares in the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on ASTE shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Astec Industries in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Astec Industries Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:ASTE opened at $62.63 on Thursday. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.65 and a 12-month high of $64.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.25.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.32. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 2.75%.The firm had revenue of $400.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.21 million.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.95%.

About Astec Industries

Astec Industries, Inc is a designer and manufacturer of specialized equipment for infrastructure-related markets. Headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the company develops, engineers and produces machinery for asphalt road-building, aggregate processing, concrete production, underground mining, landscaping and utility installation. Astec’s product portfolio includes asphalt plants, portable crushers, conveyors, screening plants, mixers, continuous miners and related support equipment.

Organized into multiple operating segments—Roadbuilding; Aggregate & Mining; Energy; and Pavement Preservation & Maintenance—Astec Industries serves contractors and municipalities that build and maintain transportation, energy and utility networks.