Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 3,981 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 31.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,812 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,981 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $1,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMS. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 781 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,005 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,390 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,812 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 884 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on WMS shares. UBS Group raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $149.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Advanced Drainage Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.25.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE WMS opened at $108.62 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.90 and a 52 week high of $184.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $116.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.92. The company has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.61.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued 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 is presently 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.