HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 18,053 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors cut its Advanced Drainage Systems stake by 59.6% in the second quarter, selling 18,053 shares and retaining 12,247 shares valued at approximately $1.92 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.83% of WMS.
• Advanced Drainage Systems reported quarterly EPS of $2.49, exceeding estimates of $2.10, while revenue rose 20.6% year over year to about $1 billion.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $188.70, compared with the stock’s reported price of $128.12.

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 59.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,247 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 18,053 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $1,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMS. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,170 shares of the construction company's stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 16,007 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,318,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 377 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 78.1% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 244 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

NYSE:WMS opened at $128.12 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $142.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $126.39 and a twelve month high of $179.32.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $991.39 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 28.28% and a net margin of 14.00%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on WMS. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $205.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $188.70.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc NYSE: WMS designs and manufactures water management products for the construction, infrastructure, agriculture and residential markets. Founded in 1966 and headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, the company is known for its thermoplastic corrugated pipe and related systems used to collect, convey, store and manage stormwater and wastewater.

Its product portfolio includes stormwater detention and infiltration systems, sanitary and septic sewer products, agricultural drainage systems, erosion and sediment control products, and water-quality solutions.

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