Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Shares Purchased by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 263,311 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 34,039 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.15% of Astec Industries worth $8,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake 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 last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the 4th quarter worth $3,612,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the 4th quarter worth $1,552,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake 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 last quarter. Finally, Dean Investment Associates LLC raised its stake 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on ASTE shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th.

Astec Industries Trading Down 3.5%

Astec Industries stock traded down $1.45 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $40.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 127,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 152,967. The stock has a market capitalization of $916.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -501.06 and a beta of 1.40. The stock's fifty day moving average is $36.21 and its 200 day moving average is $35.46. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.46 and a 1-year high of $42.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.47.

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

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Astec Industries's payout ratio is 78.79%.

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.