Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 15,906 Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its holdings in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE - Free Report) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 91,932 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 15,906 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.40% of Astec Industries worth $3,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ASTE. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Astec Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Astec Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $128,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ASTE. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Astec Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird raised 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.

Astec Industries Stock Performance

ASTE stock traded up $0.95 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $33.84. 117,465 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 160,020. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.46 and a 12 month high of $44.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $771.69 million, a P/E ratio of -422.95 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.40.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.46. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The business had revenue of $359.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.10 million.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Astec Industries's payout ratio is 273.68%.

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.