Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE – Get Rating) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,236 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.14% of Astec Industries worth $1,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astec Industries during the first quarter worth $51,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Astec Industries by 89.9% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank purchased a new position in Astec Industries in the fourth quarter worth $69,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Astec Industries by 31.2% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in Astec Industries by 18.6% in the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 4,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. 93.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astec Industries Trading Down 3.0 %

Astec Industries stock opened at $38.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $864.50 million, a PE ratio of 108.72 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.77. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.04 and a 52 week high of $49.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.31. Astec Industries had a return on equity of 6.17% and a net margin of 0.59%. The firm had revenue of $347.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $341.36 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Astec Industries, Inc. will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 12th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 11th. Astec Industries’s payout ratio is 148.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on ASTE shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Astec Industries from $58.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Astec Industries in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Astec Industries in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Astec Industries from $36.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st.

About Astec Industries

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Astec Industries, Inc engages in the design, engineer, manufacture, and market of equipment and components used in road building and construction activities. It operates through the following segments: Infrastructure Solutions, Material Solutions, and Corporate and Other. The Infrastructure Solutions segment designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets a complete line of asphalt plants, concrete plants, and ancillary equipment, as well as supplying asphalt road construction equipment, industrial thermal systems, and heavy equipment.