Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Has $92.42 Million Stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 71.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,097,500 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 456,300 shares during the period. Advanced Drainage Systems accounts for 1.4% of Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP owned 1.35% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $92,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WMS. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 2,238 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,916 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 3,983 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 14,718 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.1% in the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 3,110 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WMS. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $115.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Monday, May 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $138.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock traded down $4.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $121.59. 630,411 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 499,146. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $123.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.68. The stock has a market cap of $9.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.39. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.02 and a 12 month high of $141.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.78.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $778.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $746.08 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 50.53%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is currently 9.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other news, Director Anil Seetharam sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.88, for a total value of $18,732,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,317,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,548,007.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, EVP Darin S. Harvey sold 3,323 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.52, for a total value of $447,009.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $561,082.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Anil Seetharam sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.88, for a total transaction of $18,732,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,317,649 shares in the company, valued at $164,548,007.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 486,274 shares of company stock worth $61,721,936. 3.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Advanced Drainage Systems 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.