Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 52,799 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,332,268 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 52,799 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.46% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $847,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMS. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 17,801 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,058,000 after buying an additional 980 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,734,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,402,447 shares of the construction company's stock worth $162,123,000 after acquiring an additional 16,415 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 404.2% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 40,525 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,685,000 after purchasing an additional 32,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 127.2% during the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 4,976 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on WMS. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays cut their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $149.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.89.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 6.2 %

Shares of WMS stock traded down $6.84 on Thursday, hitting $103.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,052,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 562,557. The firm has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.61. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.59 and a twelve month high of $184.27. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $115.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $129.32.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.25). Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 35.79%. As a group, analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.70%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company 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.