PGGM Investments Has $49.22 Million Stock Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Key Points

• PGGM Investments reduced its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 48,617 shares. It still holds 339,867 shares valued at about $49.22 million.
• Advanced Drainage Systems posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.07 versus estimates of $0.95 and revenue of $676.76 million, up 9.9% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20 per share from $0.18, while analysts kept a generally positive view with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $189.83.

PGGM Investments trimmed its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 339,867 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 48,617 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments owned 0.44% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $49,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 32.9% in the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,122 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,960 shares during the last quarter. Pier Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 69,891.7% in the fourth quarter. Pier Capital LLC now owns 50,394 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $7,299,000 after acquiring an additional 50,322 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $24,314,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 345.7% in the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 42,898 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,950,000 after acquiring an additional 33,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 85.9% in the third quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 135,912 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $18,851,000 after acquiring an additional 62,809 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company's stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

WMS stock opened at $132.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 3.08. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $142.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.13. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $105.14 and a fifty-two week high of $179.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.36 billion, a PE ratio of 24.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.12. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 26.63%. The firm had revenue of $676.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $651.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. Advanced Drainage Systems's revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Advanced Drainage Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $198.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Barclays cut their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $189.83.

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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