Ameriprise Financial Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lowered its position in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 20.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 145,902 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 37,823 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.64% of Astec Industries worth $4,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 184.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 181,772 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,108,000 after buying an additional 117,858 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the 4th quarter worth $3,612,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the 4th quarter worth $1,552,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 79.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 101,287 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,403,000 after buying an additional 44,701 shares during the period. Finally, Dean Investment Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 174.1% during the 4th quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 65,283 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,194,000 after buying an additional 41,462 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company's stock.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

ASTE stock traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.60. 95,206 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 152,505. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.55. Astec Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $28.46 and a one year high of $42.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $905.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -496.74 and a beta of 1.40.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $329.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $320.40 million. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The firm's revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Astec Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASTE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th.

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.