Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Buys 33,274 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 345.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 42,898 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,274 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $5,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WMS. Profund Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,948 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 120,179 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,669,000 after buying an additional 25,909 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the third quarter worth $447,000. Finally, Vantage Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 19.8% during the third quarter. Vantage Financial Partners LLC now owns 16,240 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,252,000 after acquiring an additional 2,688 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on WMS. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $176.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $187.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group set a $215.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE WMS opened at $172.79 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 4.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $93.92 and a twelve month high of $178.41. The company’s fifty day moving average is $153.01 and its 200-day moving average is $144.55. The stock has a market cap of $13.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.34.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.16. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 27.72% and a net margin of 15.75%.The firm had revenue of $693.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $686.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is currently 11.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert M. Eversole sold 10,569 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.82, for a total transaction of $1,615,154.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 50,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,652,614.32. This represents a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 80,030 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.95, for a total transaction of $11,920,468.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,385,039.65. The trade was 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 96,500 shares of company stock valued at $14,416,901 in the last quarter. 1.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.