New York State Common Retirement Fund Purchases 20,390 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 161,525 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,390 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.21% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $25,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMS. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 1st quarter worth about $220,853,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $1,251,353,000 after buying an additional 395,099 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,519,118 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $261,609,000 after buying an additional 219,629 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 136.2% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 312,393 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $50,105,000 after buying an additional 180,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,870,000. 89.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMS. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Advanced Drainage Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $202.00 to $194.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $192.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $190.14.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

NYSE:WMS traded up $2.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $152.19. The stock had a trading volume of 291,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 484,231. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $152.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.53. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $110.31 and a one year high of $184.27.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.13%.

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.