KBC Group NV Purchases 135,470 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 18.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 874,219 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 135,470 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned approximately 1.13% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $94,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. 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 valued at $68,616,000 after purchasing an additional 31,510 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,907 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,265 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $897,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $535,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 591,552 shares of the construction company's stock worth $68,383,000 after buying an additional 12,823 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $116.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $114.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.60. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.92 and a 1 year high of $179.57. The stock has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This is a boost from Advanced Drainage Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Advanced Drainage Systems's payout ratio is presently 12.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WMS shares. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. 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. 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.

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