Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Increases Stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 76,642 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 4,802 shares during the quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $8,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 2,607 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 31.8% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,011 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the fourth quarter worth $230,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 73,203 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,554,000 after purchasing an additional 4,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northcape Capital Pty Ltd lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Northcape Capital Pty Ltd now owns 16,509 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,908,000 after purchasing an additional 4,016 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WMS shares. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $149.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group upgraded Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered Advanced Drainage Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $153.78.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $103.53 on Thursday. 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’s fifty day moving average is $111.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.69. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.92 and a 52 week high of $184.27. The company has a market capitalization of $8.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.48.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 EPS 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, analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. 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.