Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 88.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,320 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,023 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMS. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 76.4% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,672,684 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $561,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,890,821 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 210.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,123,772 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $92,116,000 after acquiring an additional 761,995 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 55.8% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,054,386 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $173,000,000 after acquiring an additional 735,476 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,287,218 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $628,174,000 after acquiring an additional 526,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,774,000. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 2.5 %

WMS opened at $156.87 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.94, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 3.03 and a quick ratio of 2.04. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $80.41 and a one year high of $176.31.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $662.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $632.69 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 49.79% and a net margin of 17.65%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. Analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMS. Stephens boosted their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $138.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Advanced Drainage Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.13.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other news, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $124,351,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 70,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,532,087. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.52, for a total value of $1,635,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,199,344. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $124,351,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 70,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,532,087. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

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.