Rathbones Group PLC Cuts Stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Rathbones Group PLC lessened its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 14.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 130,792 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 21,360 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC owned about 0.17% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $17,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $156,587,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 234.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,188,906 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $164,901,000 after purchasing an additional 832,929 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 80.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,279,576 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $185,324,000 after purchasing an additional 572,193 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 32.9% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,204,801 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $302,290,000 after purchasing an additional 546,298 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 875.8% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 458,910 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $66,464,000 after purchasing an additional 411,883 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on WMS. Barclays increased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Advanced Drainage Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 4.9%

WMS opened at $145.20 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $143.15 and a 200 day moving average of $148.18. The company has a market cap of $11.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.27. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $112.67 and a 12 month high of $179.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.71%.

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.