Driehaus Capital Management LLC Sells 80,221 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Driehaus Capital Management LLC cut its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 174,070 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 80,221 shares during the quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC owned about 0.22% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $27,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMS. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 71,013 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,987,000 after purchasing an additional 11,305 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 119,859 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,915,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 160.4% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 154,839 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $21,777,000 after buying an additional 95,370 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 31,121 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,377,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 200,681 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,224,000 after buying an additional 4,688 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on WMS shares. StockNews.com cut Advanced Drainage Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $192.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $202.00 to $194.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.14.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE WMS opened at $160.29 on Friday. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $102.32 and a 1-year high of $184.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $154.63 and a 200-day moving average of $162.35. The firm has a market cap of $12.42 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.53.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.08. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 43.60% and a net margin of 17.09%. The company had revenue of $815.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $828.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

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.