Atria Investments Inc Lowers Stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Atria Investments Inc decreased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 11.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,988 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 260 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 24.8% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 63,780 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $11,006,000 after buying an additional 12,655 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 1st quarter worth approximately $525,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 139,677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $24,059,000 after acquiring an additional 19,626 shares in the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 1st quarter valued at $580,000. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its holdings 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 worth $217,553,000 after purchasing an additional 75,455 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WMS. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer dropped 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 report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $194.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.29.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of WMS stock opened at $131.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The company has a market cap of $10.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.53. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $117.97 and a 1 year high of $184.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $148.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.63.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 10.19%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

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.