Swiss National Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 139,600 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 17,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $19,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,878,726 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $783,005,000 after acquiring an additional 65,038 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 13.3% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,445,326 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $164,521,000 after buying an additional 169,517 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,385,780 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $157,743,000 after buying an additional 104,272 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,120,769 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $127,552,000 after acquiring an additional 8,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 692,211 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $78,794,000 after acquiring an additional 20,947 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMS. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $138.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $124,351,885.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,532,087. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $124,351,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 70,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,532,087. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.52, for a total transaction of $1,635,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,199,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $172.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 3.03. The company has a market capitalization of $13.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.40, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.51. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.71 and a 1 year high of $176.31. The company’s fifty day moving average is $164.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.49.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $662.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $632.69 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 49.79% and a net margin of 17.65%. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products, and drainage solutions for use in the construction and agriculture marketplaces in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments.