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

Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 263,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 34,039 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.15% of Astec Industries worth $8,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Astec Industries by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 56,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,807,000 after buying an additional 15,736 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Astec Industries by 319.1% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 12,217 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Astec Industries by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Astec Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Astec Industries by 196.1% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 27,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 18,325 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.16% of the company’s stock.

Astec Industries Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of ASTE stock opened at $42.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $960.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -524.93 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.31. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $42.79.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 positive return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 0.15%. Astec Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is currently 78.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASTE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th.

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.