Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Shares Bought by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 96,493 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,753 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.12% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $13,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,445,326 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $164,521,000 after acquiring an additional 169,517 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,878,726 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $783,005,000 after acquiring an additional 65,038 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 82.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,990 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,968,000 after acquiring an additional 6,343 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 113.9% in the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 7,316 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $833,000 after acquiring an additional 3,896 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 42,273 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,945,000 after acquiring an additional 6,467 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMS shares. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of 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 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.13.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of WMS opened at $156.73 on Friday. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.41 and a fifty-two week high of $176.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $164.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $12.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.50.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.44. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 49.79%. The company had revenue of $662.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $632.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.52, for a total value of $1,635,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,199,344. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,532,087. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.52, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

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.