Natixis Sells 14,192 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Natixis reduced its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 81,942 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 14,192 shares during the quarter. Natixis’ holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $9,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $11,186,000 after buying an additional 32,418 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 738,749 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $85,399,000 after acquiring an additional 129,252 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 593,562 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $68,616,000 after acquiring an additional 31,510 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 5,658 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 2,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 163,910 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $18,948,000 after purchasing an additional 20,146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WMS. UBS Group raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $134.00 target price for the company. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of 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. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $149.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $153.78.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:WMS opened at $104.44 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $110.63 and its 200 day moving average is $124.54. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.92 and a 12 month high of $184.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.25). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 15.90%. Sell-side analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.70%.

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.