Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 50,337 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 19%, selling 50,337 shares in Q4 and ending the quarter with 213,967 shares worth about $30.99 million (0.28% of the company).
• Institutional ownership is very high at 89.83%, and several large funds — including Wellington, Interval Partners, Franklin Resources and Capital International — materially increased positions in recent quarters.
• Wall Street sentiment is a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target around $190.29, supported by a recent quarterly EPS beat and a modest dividend (annualized $0.72, ~0.5% yield).

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 19.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 213,967 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 50,337 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.28% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $30,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMS. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 234.0% during 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 buying an additional 832,929 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 98.0% during the third quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 968,534 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $134,336,000 after buying an additional 479,413 shares during the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the third quarter valued at about $45,591,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 586.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 285,810 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $39,642,000 after buying an additional 244,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 34.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 933,851 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $129,525,000 after buying an additional 241,500 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMS. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group set a $215.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $190.29.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

WMS stock opened at $146.48 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $148.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.19. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.69 and a 52-week high of $179.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.37. 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 (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $693.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $686.37 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.09 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $0.18 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 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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