Strs Ohio Makes New Investment in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,202 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,012,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kessler Investment Group LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,233 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,872,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 900 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,702 shares of the construction company's stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on WMS. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $138.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Advanced Drainage Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $159.13.

Insider Activity at Advanced Drainage Systems

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,199,344. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,199,344. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now 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 company insiders.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of WMS stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $160.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 286,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 466,145. The company has a market cap of $12.44 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.50. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $164.64 and a 200-day moving average of $139.99. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.41 and a 52 week high of $176.31.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $662.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $632.69 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 49.79% and a net margin of 17.65%. Advanced Drainage Systems's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

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