Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS Stock Position Lifted by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 24.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,357 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,326 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $5,875,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 134.8% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,275 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 3,028 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the third quarter valued at $1,321,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 29.7% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 19,982 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,772,000 after acquiring an additional 4,574 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,651 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,669,000 after acquiring an additional 13,097 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $211,000. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 1.4%

WMS stock opened at $157.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 3.48 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The firm has a market cap of $12.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.33. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.92 and a 12 month high of $160.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.45.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $850.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $802.49 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 28.85% and a net margin of 15.35%.The company’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 80,030 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.95, for a total value of $11,920,468.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,385,039.65. This trade represents a 65.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thomas J. Sr. Waun sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,245,500. This trade represents a 6.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 97,772 shares of company stock worth $14,605,539 in the last quarter. 1.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on WMS shares. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $176.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.22.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc (NYSE: WMS) is a leading manufacturer and supplier of water management solutions in North America. Headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, the company specializes in the design, production and distribution of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) drainage pipe and related products. Its core business addresses stormwater management, on-site septic systems and erosion control for residential, commercial and infrastructure projects.

The company’s product portfolio includes corrugated plastic pipe, tubing, fittings, geocells, geogrids and stormwater structures such as inlets, manholes and detention/retention systems.