Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 32,418 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 50.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 96,764 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,418 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $11,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 123.1% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 386 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 642.4% during the third quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp now owns 490 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 555 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 693 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 418.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 897 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 target price (down from $170.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $174.00 to $161.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WMS opened at $125.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.75 and a 52-week high of $184.27. The stock has a market cap of $9.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $124.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.40.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $782.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $819.41 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 40.31% and a net margin of 16.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.19%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

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.