Northern Trust Corp Has $8.85 Million Stock Position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 263,311 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,039 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.15% of Astec Industries worth $8,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Astec Industries by 802.5% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $86,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $128,000. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,000. 93.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astec Industries Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of ASTE traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $38.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 122,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 152,795. 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 firm has a market cap of $886.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -484.31 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.52. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.46 and a 1-year high of $42.79.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.42. The firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.34 EPS.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Astec Industries's dividend payout ratio is 78.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ASTE shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Astec Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

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.