Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Shares Sold by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 19.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,030 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 4,400 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $2,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMS. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,519,118 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $261,609,000 after buying an additional 219,629 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,430,091 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $229,372,000 after purchasing an additional 64,618 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,384,276 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $217,553,000 after purchasing an additional 75,455 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,382,735 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $221,777,000 after purchasing an additional 7,690 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 772,588 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $123,920,000 after purchasing an additional 94,019 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMS. Oppenheimer reduced their price target 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. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target (down from $170.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $174.00 to $161.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.29.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:WMS opened at $133.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $10.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.53. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $119.25 and a one year high of $184.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 3.19. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.93.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.23). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 40.31% and a net margin of 16.89%. The company had revenue of $782.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.41 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.71 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is currently 10.19%.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

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.