Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Increases Stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 29.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,684 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,909 shares during the quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $1,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 72.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 854,764 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $98,678,000 after purchasing an additional 358,271 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,812 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 213,650 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $24,698,000 after buying an additional 11,522 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,025,000. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,681 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,466,000 after acquiring an additional 1,598 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $174.00 to $161.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.25.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $114.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 3.21 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.61. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.90 and a 1-year high of $184.27. The company’s 50-day moving average is $119.00 and its 200 day moving average is $134.50.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.25). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 15.90%. Research analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.70%.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products in North America and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments. It offers single, double, and triple wall corrugated polypropylene and polyethylene pipes; plastic leachfield chambers and systems; EZflow synthetic aggregate bundles; wastewater purification through mechanical aeration wastewater for residential and commercial systems; septic tanks and accessories; combined treatment and dispersal systems, including advanced enviro-septic and advanced treatment leachfield systems; and allied products, including storm retention/detention and septic chambers, polyvinyl chloride drainage structures, fittings, and water quality filters and separators.