Nomura Holdings Inc. Buys Shares of 9,362 Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,362 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,082,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 50.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 96,764 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $11,186,000 after purchasing an additional 32,418 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 738,749 shares of the construction company's stock worth $85,399,000 after buying an additional 129,252 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 593,562 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $68,616,000 after purchasing an additional 31,510 shares during the period. D.B. Root & Company LLC increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 5,658 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 2,227 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 163,910 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $18,948,000 after purchasing an additional 20,146 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $146.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $155.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $143.00 to $133.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of WMS stock traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $110.25. 493,986 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 601,805. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.92 and a 12 month high of $179.57. The company has a market cap of $8.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company's 50-day moving average price is $110.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.91.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The construction company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.06). Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 35.79%. The business had revenue of $615.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $653.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This is a boost from Advanced Drainage Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Advanced Drainage Systems's payout ratio is presently 12.50%.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products in North America and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments. It offers single, double, and triple wall corrugated polypropylene and polyethylene pipes; plastic leachfield chambers and systems; EZflow synthetic aggregate bundles; wastewater purification through mechanical aeration wastewater for residential and commercial systems; septic tanks and accessories; combined treatment and dispersal systems, including advanced enviro-septic and advanced treatment leachfield systems; and allied products, including storm retention/detention and septic chambers, polyvinyl chloride drainage structures, fittings, and water quality filters and separators.