Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 18,300 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management trimmed its stake by 19.4%, selling 18,300 shares and now holds 76,180 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems worth about $11.03 million (≈0.10% of the company).
• Analysts are broadly positive—seven Buy ratings and one Hold—with an average target price of $190.29, well above the recent share price near $147.64.
• Advanced Drainage beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.27 vs. $1.11) and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.18 (annualized $0.72, ~0.5% yield).

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS trimmed its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 76,180 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 18,300 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned about 0.10% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $11,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMS. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 352.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 226 shares of the construction company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,049 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,418,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,784 shares of the construction company's stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 2nd quarter worth about $403,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 101,512 shares of the construction company's stock worth $11,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down from $200.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of 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. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group set a $215.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $190.29.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:WMS opened at $147.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a current ratio of 4.12. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.69 and a fifty-two week high of $179.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.18.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.98%.

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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