Moody National Bank Trust Division Sells 1,030 Shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Moody National Bank Trust Division trimmed its stake in shares of Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,763 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,030 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division owned approximately 0.06% of Astec Industries worth $496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 38.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 56,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 15,736 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Astec Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Astec Industries in the third quarter valued at about $218,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Astec Industries by 118.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,529 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 22,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 4.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 569,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,180,000 after purchasing an additional 22,743 shares during the period. 93.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ASTE shares. StockNews.com upgraded Astec Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Astec Industries Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of ASTE opened at $32.46 on Wednesday. Astec Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.46 and a 1-year high of $44.74. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $35.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $740.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -405.70 and a beta of 1.31.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.31. Astec Industries had a positive return on equity of 7.69% and a negative net margin of 0.15%. The business had revenue of $291.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $312.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.01) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Astec Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -650.00%.

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.