Great Lakes Advisors LLC Acquires 550 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 27.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,579 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,541,688 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $399,452,000 after acquiring an additional 206,105 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,530,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $291,723,000 after purchasing an additional 650,052 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,384,276 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $217,553,000 after buying an additional 75,455 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $186,578,000 after buying an additional 59,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 72.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 854,764 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $98,678,000 after buying an additional 358,271 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 3.3 %

NYSE:WMS opened at $108.74 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 3.21. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.90 and a fifty-two week high of $184.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.61.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMS has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised shares of 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. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $149.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.