J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Boosts Stock Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 166,469 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,557 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $24,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,551,901 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $353,949,000 after purchasing an additional 75,777 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,416,942 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $335,230,000 after buying an additional 238,179 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 6.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,472,176 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $204,191,000 after buying an additional 90,106 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 234.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,188,906 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $164,901,000 after buying an additional 832,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.4% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,138,378 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $157,889,000 after acquiring an additional 16,118 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $187.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $176.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Down 1.1%

WMS opened at $131.30 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a current ratio of 4.12. The company has a market cap of $10.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.27. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $93.92 and a one year high of $179.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $155.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.20.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $693.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $686.37 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 27.72% and a net margin of 15.75%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.98%.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

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.