The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 364 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Astec Industries were worth $280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in Astec Industries by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 14,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Astec Industries by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 381,598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,243 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Astec Industries by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,693 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ASTE. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Astec Industries from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock 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 report on Friday, May 9th.

Astec Industries Stock Down 0.5%

ASTE stock opened at $42.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.46 and a 1-year high of $42.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $35.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.31. The firm has a market cap of $960.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -524.93 and a beta of 1.40.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.42. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. The business had revenue of $329.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $320.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid 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 yield of 1.24%. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is 78.79%.

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.