Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 47.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,530 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 8,500 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $1,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WMS. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,384,276 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $217,553,000 after acquiring an additional 75,455 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,999 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 164,190 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,804,000 after acquiring an additional 39,593 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 123.1% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 386 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,271 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $149.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.25.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

WMS stock opened at $108.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.61. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.90 and a 12-month high of $184.27. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $132.89.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.25). Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 35.79%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.70%.

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.