Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 22,743 Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 569,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,743 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.50% of Astec Industries worth $18,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Astec Industries by 69.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $64,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $72,000. Institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Price Performance

Astec Industries stock opened at $33.22 on Friday. 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 market cap of $757.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -415.20 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.07. 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, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The company had revenue of $291.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $312.90 million. Astec Industries had a positive return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 0.15%. Astec Industries’s revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.01) earnings per share.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -650.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASTE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

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.