Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership Decreases Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership decreased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 94.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,978 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 108,351 shares during the quarter. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.8% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 3,043,909 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $348,709,000 after acquiring an additional 139,495 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,178,763 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $250,253,000 after purchasing an additional 117,963 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,382,070 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $158,745,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 880,373 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $101,120,000 after purchasing an additional 6,154 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the second quarter worth $90,989,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 80,030 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 42,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,385,039.65. This represents a 65.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Tim A. Makowski sold 4,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.21, for a total value of $731,278.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $368,101.07. The trade was a 66.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 96,500 shares of company stock valued at $14,416,901. Insiders own 1.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group set a $215.00 price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $176.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

NYSE:WMS opened at $172.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.55. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $93.92 and a twelve month high of $178.41. 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 (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.16. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.75% and a return on equity of 27.72%. The business had revenue of $693.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $686.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is presently 11.98%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company 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.