Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 19,300 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $2,714,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMS. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 2,238 shares of the construction company's stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,525 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 47.8% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 495 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,893 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WMS shares. Stephens boosted 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. StockNews.com cut Advanced Drainage Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 13,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,199,344. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 13,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,199,344. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $124,351,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 70,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,532,087. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of WMS traded down $1.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $160.92. 648,242 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 470,124. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $164.56 and a 200-day moving average of $138.34. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $80.41 and a one year high of $176.31. The firm has a market cap of $12.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.58, a PEG ratio of 1.44 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 (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $662.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $632.69 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 49.79%. Advanced Drainage Systems's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.