AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Sells 36,797 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc trimmed its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 15.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 202,685 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 36,797 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned approximately 0.26% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $28,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMS. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 352.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 226 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 1,242.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 255 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 341.6% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 658 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 16.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 702 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMS has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $176.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.22.

Insider Activity

In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, EVP Thomas J. Sr. Waun sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $150,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,245,500. The trade was a 6.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 80,030 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.95, for a total value of $11,920,468.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,867 shares in the company, valued at $6,385,039.65. The trade was a 65.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,772 shares of company stock valued at $14,605,539. Company insiders own 1.63% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $153.11 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 3.48, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $150.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.11. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.92 and a 12 month high of $160.85.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $850.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $802.49 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 28.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. Analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.29%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc (NYSE: WMS) is a leading manufacturer and supplier of water management solutions in North America. Headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, the company specializes in the design, production and distribution of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) drainage pipe and related products. Its core business addresses stormwater management, on-site septic systems and erosion control for residential, commercial and infrastructure projects.

The company’s product portfolio includes corrugated plastic pipe, tubing, fittings, geocells, geogrids and stormwater structures such as inlets, manholes and detention/retention systems.