New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Stock Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 34.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73,216 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 39,177 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.09% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $10,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.8% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 3,043,909 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $348,709,000 after purchasing an additional 139,495 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,178,763 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $250,253,000 after buying an additional 117,963 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,382,070 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $158,745,000 after buying an additional 3,583 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 880,373 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $101,120,000 after buying an additional 6,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the second quarter valued at approximately $90,989,000. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of WMS stock opened at $156.32 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.48, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $93.92 and a twelve month high of $161.19. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $151.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.00. The stock has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.34.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $850.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $802.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. Advanced Drainage Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on WMS. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $176.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Tim A. Makowski sold 4,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.21, for a total transaction of $731,278.21. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $368,101.07. This trade represents a 66.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 80,030 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.95, for a total transaction of $11,920,468.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,385,039.65. This trade represents a 65.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 97,772 shares of company stock worth $14,605,539 in the last three months. 1.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc (NYSE: WMS) is a leading manufacturer and supplier of water management solutions in North America. Headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, the company specializes in the design, production and distribution of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) drainage pipe and related products. Its core business addresses stormwater management, on-site septic systems and erosion control for residential, commercial and infrastructure projects.

The company’s product portfolio includes corrugated plastic pipe, tubing, fittings, geocells, geogrids and stormwater structures such as inlets, manholes and detention/retention systems.