Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Raises Stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,303 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $3,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 50.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 96,764 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,186,000 after acquiring an additional 32,418 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 738,749 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $85,399,000 after buying an additional 129,252 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 593,562 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $68,616,000 after buying an additional 31,510 shares during the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 5,658 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 2,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 163,910 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $18,948,000 after acquiring an additional 20,146 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMS has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays reduced their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $149.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $153.78.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WMS opened at $104.88 on Wednesday. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.92 and a fifty-two week high of $184.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.84. The company has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.48.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.25). Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 35.79%. As a group, equities research 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 Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.70%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

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.