Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Buys 546,298 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 32.9% in the first quarter, buying 546,298 additional shares to bring its holdings to 2.2 million shares worth about $302.3 million.
• Advanced Drainage Systems reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.07 versus the $0.95 estimate 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 currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with an average price target of $185.75.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 32.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,204,801 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 546,298 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 2.83% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $302,290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of 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 valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 16,007 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,318,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the construction company's stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 377 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,174 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company's stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

WMS stock opened at $154.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.63 and a 1 year high of $179.32. The company has a market cap of $11.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.29. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $141.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.68.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $676.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Advanced Drainage Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WMS shares. UBS Group decreased 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 report on Friday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $175.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research cut Advanced Drainage Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.75.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company 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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