BNP Paribas Financial Markets Reduces Stock Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 36.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,014 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 26,814 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.06% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $7,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMS. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.7% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,430,091 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $229,372,000 after purchasing an additional 64,618 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,384,276 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $217,553,000 after buying an additional 75,455 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,382,735 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $221,777,000 after acquiring an additional 7,690 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 772,588 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $123,920,000 after purchasing an additional 94,019 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 609,497 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $95,789,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $174.00 to $161.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer decreased 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. KeyCorp dropped 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. Barclays reduced their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $194.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 price target (down from $170.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.29.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

WMS stock opened at $133.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 3.19. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.61 and a 1 year high of $184.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.09.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.