Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Lowers Stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 36.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,503 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 14,169 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $2,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $94,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 884 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,005 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1,298.6% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 574.6% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,302 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $155.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $143.00 to $133.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

NYSE WMS traded up $2.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $113.16. The stock had a trading volume of 243,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 604,181. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.92 and a 52-week high of $179.57. The company has a market cap of $8.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.62. 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 (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last released 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). The company 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 35.79% and a net margin of 15.90%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. This is an increase from Advanced Drainage Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Advanced Drainage Systems's payout ratio is currently 12.50%.

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.