Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,537,094 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 204,826 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.72% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $818,905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 76.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 266 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 97.6% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 10,769 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,170,000 after acquiring an additional 5,319 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 15.6% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 18,914 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,559 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 167.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 812 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,907 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMS traded down $0.31 on Friday, hitting $138.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 645,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 819,976. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $93.92 and a 12-month high of $166.03. The company has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 2.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $118.96 and a 200-day moving average of $114.82.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $829.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $800.54 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 14.82% and a return on equity of 29.57%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Monday, August 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $159.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $167.00 price objective (up from $146.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $152.56.

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.