Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Stock Holdings Lowered by AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc trimmed its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 213,536 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 10,583 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $24,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,541,688 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $399,452,000 after acquiring an additional 206,105 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 50.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 96,764 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,186,000 after purchasing an additional 32,418 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,694,000. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 3rd quarter worth about $8,540,000. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,384,276 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $217,553,000 after buying an additional 75,455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMS opened at $125.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.15. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $110.75 and a one year high of $184.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $123.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.46. The company has a market capitalization of $9.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.51.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The construction company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $782.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.41 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 40.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.71 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WMS shares. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $174.00 to $161.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group upgraded Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products in North America and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments. It offers single, double, and triple wall corrugated polypropylene and polyethylene pipes; plastic leachfield chambers and systems; EZflow synthetic aggregate bundles; wastewater purification through mechanical aeration wastewater for residential and commercial systems; septic tanks and accessories; combined treatment and dispersal systems, including advanced enviro-septic and advanced treatment leachfield systems; and allied products, including storm retention/detention and septic chambers, polyvinyl chloride drainage structures, fittings, and water quality filters and separators.