3,050 Shares in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Acquired by New England Research & Management Inc.

New England Research & Management Inc. purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,050 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $525,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 428.8% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 22,449 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,157,000 after buying an additional 18,204 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 633,392 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $89,086,000 after purchasing an additional 15,690 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,878,726 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $783,005,000 after purchasing an additional 65,038 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 82.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,990 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,968,000 after buying an additional 6,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 9.6% during the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 55,575 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,572,000 after buying an additional 4,889 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Advanced Drainage Systems

In related news, CFO Scott A. Cottrill sold 73,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.11, for a total transaction of $12,672,863.77. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 91,442 shares in the company, valued at $15,829,524.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Scott A. Cottrill sold 73,207 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.11, for a total transaction of $12,672,863.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 91,442 shares in the company, valued at $15,829,524.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 85,938 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.10, for a total value of $14,961,805.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,007,555.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 176,004 shares of company stock worth $30,547,285. 2.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 0.7 %

WMS stock opened at $160.39 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $168.21 and a 200-day moving average of $157.01. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $102.32 and a twelve month high of $184.27. The company has a market cap of $12.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.91, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.28. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 17.74% and a return on equity of 46.93%. The company had revenue of $653.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.99 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 7.17 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. This is a positive change from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WMS shares. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $182.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products, and drainage solutions for use in the construction and agriculture marketplaces in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments.