AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Sells 43,937 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc decreased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 27.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 113,778 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 43,937 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $15,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,170 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 16,007 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,318,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 377 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,174 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of 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 began coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.75.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 0.1%

WMS opened at $147.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.29. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.63 and a 12 month high of $179.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $141.97 and a 200 day moving average of $148.79.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.71%.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

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.