Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 31.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 164,190 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 39,593 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.21% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $25,804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,265,169 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,251,353,000 after acquiring 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. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 valued at $229,372,000 after buying an additional 64,618 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 75,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 7,690 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $194.00 to $172.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on 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. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $174.00 to $161.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Loop Capital dropped 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 research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $184.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.29.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 1.0 %

WMS traded up $1.30 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $132.72. 334,862 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 503,167. 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 50-day moving average price of $150.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.76. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $116.98 and a 52-week high of $184.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.16 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.19%.

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.