Boston Partners Reduces Stock Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Boston Partners decreased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 98.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 18,547 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,408,094 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $2,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMS. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,541,688 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $399,452,000 after acquiring an additional 206,105 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 50.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 96,764 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $11,186,000 after purchasing an additional 32,418 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the third quarter worth approximately $2,694,000. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 3rd quarter worth $8,540,000. Finally, Swedbank AB raised 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 purchasing an additional 75,455 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WMS shares. Loop Capital cut their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $149.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Advanced Drainage Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.25.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of WMS stock opened at $108.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 3.21 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.44. The company has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.61. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.90 and a 1-year high of $184.27.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.