California Public Employees Retirement System Increases Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 127,328 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 4,859 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.16% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $17,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the third quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 900 shares of the construction company's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,199,344. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 70,749 shares in the company, valued at $11,532,087. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,199,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Stephens increased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $138.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $159.13.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

WMS stock traded down $5.88 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $156.94. 373,227 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 459,296. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.25 and a 52 week high of $176.31. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $164.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 3.03 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.18 billion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.50.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 49.79% and a net margin of 17.65%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.90%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company 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.