American Century Companies Inc. Raises Stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,472,176 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 90,106 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.89% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $204,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.7% in the third quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 3,234 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 16.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 702 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.6% during the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 17,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.2% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,132 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other news, Director Robert M. Eversole sold 10,569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on WMS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $176.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group set a $215.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 0.6%

WMS stock opened at $171.10 on Friday. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $93.92 and a twelve month high of $179.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 4.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $149.22.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $693.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $686.37 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.75% and a return on equity of 27.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.98%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company 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.