Swedbank AB Decreases Stock Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Swedbank AB lessened its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,379,900 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 4,376 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned about 1.78% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $159,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMS. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,517 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,216,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 738,749 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $85,399,000 after acquiring an additional 129,252 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,055,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,417 shares of the construction company's stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company's stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of WMS traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $124.60. 363,416 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 544,743. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $110.75 and a twelve month high of $184.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The company has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.51. The business's 50-day moving average price is $123.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.62.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.23). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 40.31% and a net margin of 16.89%. The business had revenue of $782.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $819.41 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $184.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $135.00 target price (down from $170.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $174.00 to $161.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.88.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

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.