Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 39,510 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 68.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,090 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 39,510 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $2,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 13.3% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,445,326 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $164,521,000 after purchasing an additional 169,517 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 428.8% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 22,449 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,157,000 after purchasing an additional 18,204 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,878,726 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $783,005,000 after purchasing an additional 65,038 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 82.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,990 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 6,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 113.9% during the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 7,316 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 3,896 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $124,351,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 70,749 shares in the company, valued at $11,532,087. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.52, for a total transaction of $1,635,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,199,344. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $124,351,885.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 70,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,532,087. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMS opened at $162.70 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $164.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $140.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 3.03 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The stock has a market cap of $12.63 billion, a PE ratio of 25.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.50. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.98 and a 1 year high of $176.31.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $662.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $632.69 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 49.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 8.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $138.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.13.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products, and drainage solutions for use in the construction and agriculture marketplaces in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments.