MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 669,279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,690 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.’s holdings in Astec Industries were worth $22,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 802.5% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Astec Industries by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 381,598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Astec Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 93.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astec Industries Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ ASTE opened at $42.29 on Thursday. Astec Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year high of $42.79. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $967.05 million, a P/E ratio of -528.56 and a beta of 1.40.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.42. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The firm had revenue of $329.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $320.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 78.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASTE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

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.