Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires Shares of 5,515 Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 5,515 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $763,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 352.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 226 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 341.6% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 658 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 702 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 2nd quarter worth about $112,000. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 0.0%

WMS stock opened at $156.32 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $93.92 and a twelve month high of $161.19. The company has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $151.67 and a 200-day moving average of $143.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced 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. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 28.85% and a net margin of 15.35%.The firm had revenue of $850.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $802.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other news, EVP Thomas J. Sr. Waun sold 1,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.30, for a total value of $188,637.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 797 shares in the company, valued at $118,195.10. This trade represents a 61.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 80,030 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.95, for a total value of $11,920,468.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,385,039.65. This trade represents a 65.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 97,772 shares of company stock valued at $14,605,539 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.63% of the company’s stock.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

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.