Verition Fund Management LLC Buys Shares of 41,636 Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 41,636 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $6,544,000. Verition Fund Management LLC owned 0.05% of Advanced Drainage Systems as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WMS. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 135.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,216 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,621,000 after acquiring an additional 8,757 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 75.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 3,887 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 1,675 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 65.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 451 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 4,625 shares of the construction company's stock worth $742,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the second quarter worth approximately $223,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $194.00 to $172.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective 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. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $135.00 price target (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $170.29.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

WMS traded down $1.36 on Monday, hitting $133.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 477,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 507,454. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.61 and a 12 month high of $184.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.48. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $147.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.09.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The construction company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $782.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.41 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 40.31%. The firm's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. Analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.5 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Advanced Drainage Systems's payout ratio is currently 10.19%.

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.