Swiss National Bank Sells 5,200 Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.20% of Astec Industries worth $1,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter worth about $123,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter worth about $208,000. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Astec Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC grew its stake in Astec Industries by 24.9% during the third quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 5,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd.

Astec Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASTE opened at $33.23 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.51 and a 200 day moving average of $36.81. The stock has a market cap of $756.48 million, a P/E ratio of 30.49 and a beta of 1.40. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.97 and a 12 month high of $56.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.47). Astec Industries had a return on equity of 7.44% and a net margin of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $309.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $343.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Astec Industries’s quarterly revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael Paul Norris purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $33.46 per share, with a total value of $33,460.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 15,886 shares in the company, valued at $531,545.56. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

About Astec Industries

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.