Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS Stock Position Cut by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. lessened its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 13.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 81,455 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 12,501 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $11,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,551,901 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $353,949,000 after buying an additional 75,777 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 32.9% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,204,801 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $302,290,000 after acquiring an additional 546,298 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 80.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,279,576 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $185,324,000 after acquiring an additional 572,193 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,271,453 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $184,184,000 after acquiring an additional 15,069 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,264,156 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $183,088,000 after acquiring an additional 75,250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WMS shares. UBS Group cut their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays decreased their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $198.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price objective for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.75.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of WMS opened at $150.89 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $141.67 and its 200-day moving average is $148.90. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.63 and a 12-month high of $179.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.26.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $676.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.92 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 26.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This is an increase from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.71%.

Advanced Drainage Systems 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.