Bridges Investment Management Inc. Acquires 7,957 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 129.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,122 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 7,957 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $1,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMS. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the construction company's stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 593,562 shares of the construction company's stock worth $68,616,000 after purchasing an additional 31,510 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter worth $1,981,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter worth $2,025,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 102,517 shares of the construction company's stock worth $11,851,000 after purchasing an additional 5,169 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company's stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Down 1.5%

WMS traded down $1.82 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $120.37. The company had a trading volume of 460,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 630,364. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.92 and a 52 week high of $179.57. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $9.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.24. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $115.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.57.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The construction company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.06). Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The company had revenue of $615.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $653.22 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This is an increase from Advanced Drainage Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Advanced Drainage Systems's payout ratio is 12.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $155.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $146.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.88.

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.