Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS Shares Sold by Triodos Investment Management BV

Key Points

• Triodos Investment Management BV trimmed its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, but it still remains the fund’s largest holding at 5.7% of its portfolio.
• The company posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.07 versus $0.95 estimated and revenue of $676.76 million, up 9.9% year over year.
• Advanced Drainage Systems raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20 per share from $0.18, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with a $187 target price.

Triodos Investment Management BV cut its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 538,011 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 8,000 shares during the quarter. Advanced Drainage Systems comprises 5.7% of Triodos Investment Management BV's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Triodos Investment Management BV owned approximately 0.69% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $79,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,551,901 shares of the construction company's stock worth $353,949,000 after buying an additional 75,777 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 10.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,416,942 shares of the construction company's stock worth $335,230,000 after buying an additional 238,179 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 6.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,472,176 shares of the construction company's stock worth $204,191,000 after buying an additional 90,106 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,271,453 shares of the construction company's stock worth $184,184,000 after buying an additional 15,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 234.0% in the third 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. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $139.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $142.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.97. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $105.14 and a 52-week high of $179.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.33.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.12. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 26.63% and a net margin of 13.98%.The firm had revenue of $676.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is a boost from Advanced Drainage Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on WMS. Barclays cut their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $198.00 to $181.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens upgraded Advanced Drainage Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $187.00.

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.

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