Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Sells 3,891 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lessened its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 18.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,016 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,891 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $2,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMS. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,170 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 16,007 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,318,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 377 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,174 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $154.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.29. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.63 and a 12-month high of $179.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.68.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $676.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.92 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 26.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

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

About Advanced Drainage Systems

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.