Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Increases Stock Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 32.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 359,111 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 87,297 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. owned about 0.46% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $41,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $86,185,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,530,000 shares of the construction company's stock worth $291,723,000 after purchasing an additional 650,052 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 72.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 854,764 shares of the construction company's stock worth $98,678,000 after purchasing an additional 358,271 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,541,688 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $399,452,000 after buying an additional 206,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 738,749 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $85,399,000 after buying an additional 129,252 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WMS. UBS Group upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Advanced Drainage Systems from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $149.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.89.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMS traded up $0.63 on Wednesday, hitting $109.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 175,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 558,603. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 3.21 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $116.29 and a 200-day moving average of $129.64. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.90 and a 12-month high of $184.27. The company has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.61.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.25). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 15.90%. As a group, research analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. 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.