William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $120.24 Million Stock Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

William Blair Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,040,099 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 103,380 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 1.34% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $120,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMS. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 123.1% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 386 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp lifted its holdings 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 worth $77,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 781 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter worth $94,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 884 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMS. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, February 7th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $149.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.25.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $108.74 on Monday. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.90 and a 12-month high of $184.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $118.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.73. The stock has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.61.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.25). Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 35.79%. As a group, analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.70%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company 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.