Strs Ohio Acquires Shares of 7,202 Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 7,202 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,012,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,199,344. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems 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 sale, the director now directly owns 70,749 shares in the company, valued at $11,532,087. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,199,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of WMS opened at $160.32 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $164.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.85. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.41 and a 12-month high of $176.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.44 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.44. The firm 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is 8.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WMS shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $138.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.