Park Avenue Securities LLC Takes Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,300 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 273 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 32,367 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,552,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 28,848 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,057,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,233 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,872,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE:WMS opened at $156.71 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $12.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $168.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.55. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.32 and a 52 week high of $184.27.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $611.99 million. Advanced Drainage Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 7.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This is an increase from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 9.94%.

Insider Activity

In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, CFO Scott A. Cottrill sold 73,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 91,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,829,524.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Scott A. Cottrill sold 73,207 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.11, for a total value of $12,672,863.77. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.58, for a total value of $1,725,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,246,890.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 176,004 shares of company stock valued at $30,547,285. Insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WMS. Barclays lifted their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Northcoast Research started coverage on Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Stephens lifted their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $182.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.88.

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.