Brown Advisory Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Brown Advisory Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 10.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,196 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 475 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the first quarter worth $26,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 76.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 266 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $74,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 167.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 812 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1,298.6% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of WMS stock opened at $113.50 on Wednesday. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $93.92 and a 12-month high of $179.57. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $115.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.24.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The construction company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $615.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $653.22 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.50%. The company’s revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This is a positive change from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is presently 12.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $143.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $146.00 to $141.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company 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.