Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS Holdings Cut by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management reduced its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 19.9% in Q4, selling 412,895 shares and now owns about 2.13% of the company (1,658,503 shares) as institutional ownership sits at roughly 89.8%.
• Advanced Drainage Systems beat Q4 estimates, reporting $1.27 EPS versus $1.11 expected and $693.35M in revenue (vs. $686.37M), with a 15.75% net margin and 27.72% ROE.
• Analysts are broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.29, while the stock trades around $151.78 and pays a $0.18 quarterly dividend (0.5% yield).

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,658,503 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 412,895 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 2.13% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $240,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,551,901 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $353,949,000 after purchasing an additional 75,777 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,416,942 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $335,230,000 after purchasing an additional 238,179 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,472,176 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $204,191,000 after purchasing an additional 90,106 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 234.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,188,906 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $164,901,000 after purchasing an additional 832,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,138,378 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $157,889,000 after purchasing an additional 16,118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company's stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $151.78 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a current ratio of 4.12. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $150.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.00. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.69 and a twelve month high of $179.32. The firm has a market cap of $11.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.16. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.75% and a return on equity of 27.72%. The business had revenue of $693.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $686.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. 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 payout ratio is 11.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $198.00 to $181.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group set a $215.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has a consensus 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.

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