Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Decreases Stock Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 213,967 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 50,337 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $30,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMS. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 234.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,188,906 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $164,901,000 after acquiring an additional 832,929 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 98.0% in the 3rd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 968,534 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $134,336,000 after acquiring an additional 479,413 shares during the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,591,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 586.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 285,810 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,642,000 after acquiring an additional 244,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 933,851 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $129,525,000 after acquiring an additional 241,500 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE:WMS opened at $146.48 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 4.12 and a quick ratio of 3.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.37. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $104.69 and a one year high of $179.32. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $148.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.19.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $693.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $686.37 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 27.72% and a net margin of 15.75%.Advanced Drainage Systems’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.19 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 11.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $176.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.29.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

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.