Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Shares Purchased by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 243,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,635 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 1.07% of Astec Industries worth $8,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 875,128 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,952,000 after acquiring an additional 26,256 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 4.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 569,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,180,000 after acquiring an additional 22,743 shares during the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 101.4% in the third quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 282,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,007,000 after acquiring an additional 142,000 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 23.6% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 215,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,888,000 after acquiring an additional 41,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 64.3% in the third quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 134,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,290,000 after acquiring an additional 52,571 shares during the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on ASTE. StockNews.com upgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

Astec Industries Stock Up 2.7 %

NASDAQ:ASTE opened at $36.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $33.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.88. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.46 and a 52 week high of $44.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $835.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -458.07 and a beta of 1.32.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $359.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $374.10 million. Astec Industries had a positive return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 0.15%.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is currently 273.68%.

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.