Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 206,848 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 24,528 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned about 0.27% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $29,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $156,587,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 234.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,188,906 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $164,901,000 after buying an additional 832,929 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 98.0% during the third quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 968,534 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $134,336,000 after buying an additional 479,413 shares during the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,591,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 586.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 285,810 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,642,000 after purchasing an additional 244,202 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on WMS shares. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $198.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $198.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Stephens raised Advanced Drainage Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.75.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Down 0.2%

WMS stock opened at $134.66 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $149.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.63 and a 1-year high of $179.32. The stock has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.29.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $676.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.92 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 26.63% and a net margin of 13.98%.The business’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is a boost from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.71%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc (NYSE: WMS) is a leading manufacturer and supplier of water management solutions in North America. Headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, the company specializes in the design, production and distribution of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) drainage pipe and related products. Its core business addresses stormwater management, on-site septic systems and erosion control for residential, commercial and infrastructure projects.

The company’s product portfolio includes corrugated plastic pipe, tubing, fittings, geocells, geogrids and stormwater structures such as inlets, manholes and detention/retention systems.