Voloridge Investment Management LLC Buys New Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 364,705 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $42,160,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.47% of Advanced Drainage Systems at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMS. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 781 shares of the construction company's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 163,910 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $18,948,000 after buying an additional 20,146 shares during the period. D.B. Root & Company LLC raised its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 5,658 shares of the construction company's stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 2,227 shares during the last quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,417 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $857,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,005 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated 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 for the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $146.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $143.00 to $133.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. One 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of WMS traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $110.25. The stock had a trading volume of 493,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 601,805. The company has a market cap of $8.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.31. 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 1.98, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $110.23 and a 200 day moving average of $117.63.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 35.79% and a net margin of 15.90%. The business had revenue of $615.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $653.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. 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 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.