Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Invests $963,000 in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 5,590 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $963,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,640,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 107.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 567,504 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $79,814,000 after buying an additional 293,924 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 78.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 659,483 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $92,750,000 after buying an additional 289,925 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc increased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 164.6% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 377,587 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $53,104,000 after buying an additional 234,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,122,000. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 85,938 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.10, for a total transaction of $14,961,805.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 45,994 shares in the company, valued at $8,007,555.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 85,938 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.10, for a total transaction of $14,961,805.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 45,994 shares in the company, valued at $8,007,555.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Tim A. Makowski sold 3,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.68, for a total transaction of $648,584.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $773,180.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 176,004 shares of company stock worth $30,547,285 over the last 90 days. 2.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective 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, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMS opened at $165.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $167.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.18. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.32 and a fifty-two week high of $184.27. The firm has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.58.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $653.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. Advanced Drainage Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This is a positive change from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

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.