MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH Takes $1.32 Million Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,500 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,321,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WMS. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.5% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 19,900 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,286,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 17,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,953,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,132 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 352.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 226 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 23.3% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Tim A. Makowski sold 4,901 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.21, for a total transaction of $731,278.21. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 2,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $368,101.07. This trade represents a 66.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas J. Sr. Waun sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,245,500. This represents a 6.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,772 shares of company stock valued at $14,605,539. Insiders own 1.63% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

NYSE WMS opened at $149.70 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $144.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.47. The firm has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 3.48 and a quick ratio of 2.60. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.92 and a 1 year high of $155.39.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.27. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 28.85%. The company had revenue of $850.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $802.49 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $176.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $158.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.11.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

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.