William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 103,380 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

William Blair Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,040,099 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 103,380 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $120,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMS. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 123.1% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 386 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 642.4% in the third quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp now owns 490 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 781 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 884 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on WMS. UBS Group raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $149.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.25.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMS opened at $108.74 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.90 and a twelve month high of $184.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $118.43 and its 200-day moving average is $132.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.61.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.25). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 15.90%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.70%.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

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.