Ballentine Partners LLC Makes New $276,000 Investment in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,544 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 76.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 266 shares of the construction company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 97.6% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 10,769 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,170,000 after acquiring an additional 5,319 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 18,914 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,559 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 167.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 812 shares of the construction company's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,907 shares of the construction company's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:WMS traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $111.77. The company had a trading volume of 646,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 633,435. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.92 and a 1 year high of $179.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.46.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The construction company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $615.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $653.22 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.50%. The firm's revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast 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 announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Advanced Drainage Systems's payout ratio is presently 12.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WMS shares. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Advanced Drainage Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $146.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $143.00 to $133.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.88.

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.