Federated Hermes Inc. Boosts Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 340,457 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 27,272 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.44% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $47,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock traded down $1.24 on Friday, hitting $155.57. 699,983 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 382,365. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $164.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.08. The company has a current ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.50. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.41 and a 12-month high of $176.31.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The firm's revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. Analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Advanced Drainage Systems's payout ratio is presently 8.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on WMS. KeyCorp raised 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. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $138.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $159.13.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

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.