Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 250.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,346 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 45,993 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.08% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $10,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,265,169 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,251,353,000 after purchasing an additional 395,099 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 16.9% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,519,118 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $261,609,000 after purchasing an additional 219,629 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.7% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,430,091 shares of the construction company's stock worth $229,372,000 after purchasing an additional 64,618 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,384,276 shares of the construction company's stock worth $217,553,000 after purchasing an additional 75,455 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,382,735 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $221,777,000 after buying an additional 7,690 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Loop Capital cut their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $192.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com cut Advanced Drainage Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $202.00 to $194.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $190.14.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Advanced Drainage Systems stock traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $150.53. The stock had a trading volume of 228,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 488,101. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.16 and a 1-year high of $184.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.82, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.53. The stock's fifty day moving average is $152.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.08. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 17.09% and a return on equity of 43.60%. The firm had revenue of $815.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $828.00 million. As a group, analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.13%.

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.