JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 249,196 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,359 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.32% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $34,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMS. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 50.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 106,705 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $12,256,000 after acquiring an additional 36,000 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the second quarter valued at $976,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.9% during the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 11,192 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.4% during the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 86,293 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,912,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE WMS opened at $171.10 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $159.21 and its 200 day moving average is $149.14. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.92 and a 52 week high of $179.32. The company has a quick ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 4.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $13.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.34.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $693.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $686.37 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.75% and a return on equity of 27.72%. The company’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $187.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group set a $215.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other news, Director Robert M. Eversole sold 10,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.82, for a total transaction of $1,615,154.58. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,652,614.32. The trade was a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.63% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc (NYSE: WMS) is a leading manufacturer and supplier of water management solutions in North America. Headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, the company specializes in the design, production and distribution of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) drainage pipe and related products. Its core business addresses stormwater management, on-site septic systems and erosion control for residential, commercial and infrastructure projects.

The company’s product portfolio includes corrugated plastic pipe, tubing, fittings, geocells, geogrids and stormwater structures such as inlets, manholes and detention/retention systems.