Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys Shares of 5,515 Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,515 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $763,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the second quarter valued at approximately $90,989,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1,209.7% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 260,607 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,933,000 after purchasing an additional 240,709 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 327.3% in the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 235,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,992,000 after purchasing an additional 180,000 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 363.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 187,270 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $21,509,000 after purchasing an additional 146,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.8% in 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. 89.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $176.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.33.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

NYSE:WMS opened at $156.32 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 3.48 and a quick ratio of 2.60. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $93.92 and a one year high of $161.19. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $151.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.00. The stock has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.34.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $850.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $802.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Advanced Drainage Systems

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