Raymond James & Associates Raises Stock Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 18.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,273 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,467 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.05% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $5,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,878,726 shares of the construction company's stock worth $783,005,000 after purchasing an additional 65,038 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 76.4% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,672,684 shares of the construction company's stock worth $561,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,890,821 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 55.8% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,054,386 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $173,000,000 after purchasing an additional 735,476 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,570,278 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $178,745,000 after purchasing an additional 204,267 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,445,326 shares of the construction company's stock worth $164,521,000 after purchasing an additional 169,517 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $124,351,885.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 70,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,532,087. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.52, for a total value of $1,635,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,199,344. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $124,351,885.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 70,749 shares in the company, valued at $11,532,087. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.79% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $138.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.13.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMS traded down $4.41 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $165.14. The stock had a trading volume of 374,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,065. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 3.03 and a quick ratio of 2.04. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.50 and a 52 week high of $176.31. The business's 50-day moving average price is $161.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.59.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $662.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $632.69 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 49.79% and a net margin of 17.65%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.90%.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products, and drainage solutions for use in the construction and agriculture marketplaces in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments.