Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Increases Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 32.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 359,111 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 87,297 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. owned about 0.46% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $41,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 159,424 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $18,429,000 after buying an additional 6,470 shares during the last quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV now owns 539,811 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $62,402,000 after purchasing an additional 60,500 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,185,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 273,248 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $31,587,000 after purchasing an additional 22,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 164.7% in the fourth quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE:WMS opened at $108.25 on Friday. 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 $116.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.33. The firm has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.61.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 15.90%. Equities analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.