Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Takes $340,000 Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,973 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,265,169 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,251,353,000 after buying an additional 395,099 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,299,489 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $182,737,000 after buying an additional 178,720 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 78.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 659,483 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $92,750,000 after buying an additional 289,925 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 633,392 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $89,086,000 after buying an additional 15,690 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $88,640,000. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.58, for a total value of $1,725,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,246,890.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Tim A. Makowski sold 3,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.68, for a total transaction of $648,584.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,530 shares in the company, valued at $773,180.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.58, for a total transaction of $1,725,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,246,890.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 176,004 shares of company stock worth $30,547,285 in the last ninety days. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WMS opened at $168.19 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $167.03 and a 200-day moving average of $160.35. The firm has a market cap of $13.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.55. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $102.32 and a twelve month high of $184.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $653.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.99 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 17.74% and a return on equity of 46.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 7.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $0.16 dividend. This is an increase from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products, and drainage solutions for use in the construction and agriculture marketplaces in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments.