Diversify Wealth Management LLC Buys New Shares in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Diversify Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,497 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $512,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,551,901 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $353,949,000 after buying an additional 75,777 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 32.9% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,204,801 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $302,290,000 after acquiring an additional 546,298 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 80.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,279,576 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $185,324,000 after acquiring an additional 572,193 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,271,453 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $184,184,000 after acquiring an additional 15,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,264,156 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $183,088,000 after acquiring an additional 75,250 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

NYSE:WMS opened at $147.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.92. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $110.79 and a twelve month high of $179.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.12. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 26.63%. The business had revenue of $676.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This is an increase from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is currently 14.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on WMS shares. Zacks Research cut Advanced Drainage Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.00.

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.