Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) Director Sells $1,615,154.58 in Stock

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Director Robert Eversole sold 10,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.82, for a total value of $1,615,154.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,652,614.32. This represents a 17.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMS opened at $148.71 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $143.65 and a 200-day moving average of $132.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 3.48. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $93.92 and a twelve month high of $155.39. The firm has a market cap of $11.56 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.36.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.27. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 28.85%. The business had revenue of $850.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $802.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 12.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advanced Drainage Systems

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,345 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.3% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 18,573 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,018,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 45.7% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 27,189 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,954,000 after purchasing an additional 8,531 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.7% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,017 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 11.3% during the first quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 3,848 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WMS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $158.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.56.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products in North America and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments. It offers single, double, and triple wall corrugated polypropylene and polyethylene pipes; plastic leachfield chambers and systems; EZflow synthetic aggregate bundles; wastewater purification through mechanical aeration wastewater for residential and commercial systems; septic tanks and accessories; combined treatment and dispersal systems, including advanced enviro-septic and advanced treatment leachfield systems; and allied products, including storm retention/detention and septic chambers, polyvinyl chloride drainage structures, fittings, and water quality filters and separators.