Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Shares Purchased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 25.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,470 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 3,693 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $2,598,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,878,726 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $783,005,000 after purchasing an additional 65,038 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 13.3% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,445,326 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $164,521,000 after purchasing an additional 169,517 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,385,780 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $157,743,000 after purchasing an additional 104,272 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.8% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,120,769 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $127,552,000 after purchasing an additional 8,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 692,211 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $78,794,000 after purchasing an additional 20,947 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $124,351,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,749 shares in the company, valued at $11,532,087. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 13,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,199,344. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of the 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

WMS opened at $168.05 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $13.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50 day moving average of $164.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.11. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $84.71 and a 52-week high of $176.31.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 49.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on WMS. Stephens upped 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. KeyCorp upped 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 boosted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.13.

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.