Moody National Bank Trust Division Trims Stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Moody National Bank Trust Division decreased its position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 45.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,105 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,658 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division's holdings in Astec Industries were worth $279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Astec Industries by 802.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 731 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the fourth quarter worth $86,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Astec Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $128,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 200.9% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,213 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 2,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company's stock.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

Astec Industries stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Thursday, hitting $39.63. The stock had a trading volume of 112,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,377. The stock has a market cap of $906.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -495.31 and a beta of 1.40. The stock's 50 day moving average is $36.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.66. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.46 and a 1 year high of $42.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Astec Industries had a positive return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 0.15%. The company had revenue of $329.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $320.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Astec Industries's payout ratio is 78.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on ASTE. Wall Street Zen raised 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 Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Astec Industries Company 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.