Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Cuts Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS – Get Rating) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,956 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 905 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.8% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 2,238 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 39.1% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 470 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 6.3% in the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 2,655 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.5% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 3,974 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 478 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. 83.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on WMS. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $108.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, May 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $120.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Friday, May 19th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $115.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $125.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Friday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.17.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE WMS opened at $96.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $84.61 and a 200 day moving average of $87.42. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.02 and a 1 year high of $153.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 18th. The construction company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.38. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 16.51% and a return on equity of 52.49%. The company had revenue of $617.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $567.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 31st. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. This is a boost from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is currently 9.23%.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other news, CAO Kevin C. Talley sold 22,006 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.67, for a total transaction of $1,973,278.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,588,503.73. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.33% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

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Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc engages in the manufacture of thermoplastic corrugated pipe, which provides a suite of water management products and drainage solutions for use in the construction and infrastructure marketplace. It operates through the following segments: Pipe, Infiltrator, International, and Allied Products & Other.