Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $361.85 Million Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,130,155 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 98,861 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 4.04% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $361,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,541,688 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $399,452,000 after purchasing an additional 206,105 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 50.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 96,764 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $11,186,000 after buying an additional 32,418 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,694,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 738,749 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $85,399,000 after acquiring an additional 129,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,186,878 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $186,578,000 after acquiring an additional 59,158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of WMS stock opened at $111.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.90 and a 12 month high of $184.27. The firm has a market cap of $8.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $117.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.56.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is 10.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WMS. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $149.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.25.

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.