Pitcairn Co. Has $819,000 Stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Pitcairn Co. grew its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,081 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 399 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,185,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 34.6% in 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 buying an additional 650,052 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 854,764 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $98,678,000 after buying an additional 358,271 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,541,688 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $399,452,000 after buying an additional 206,105 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $149.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $134.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.89.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

NYSE WMS opened at $100.82 on Friday. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $95.39 and a twelve month high of $184.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $7.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.99.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, research analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.70%.

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.