New York State Common Retirement Fund Trims Stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 122,247 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 19,117 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $17,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMS. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 184.5% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 4,505 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,235 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $937,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $386,000. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 15,395 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 35,806 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,076,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Drainage Systems

In related news, 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 sale, the director now owns 70,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,532,087. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 sale, the director now owns 70,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,532,087. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,199,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Advanced Drainage Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stephens upped 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. Finally, KeyCorp upped 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 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.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of WMS stock opened at $162.70 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $12.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.73. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.98 and a 12-month high of $176.31. The company has a current ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $662.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $632.69 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 49.79% and a net margin of 17.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.90%.

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.