Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 94.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,754 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 215,470 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $2,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 10.3% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 121,851 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $21,178,000 after acquiring an additional 11,423 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 428.8% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 22,449 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,157,000 after purchasing an additional 18,204 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 633,392 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $89,086,000 after purchasing an additional 15,690 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 82.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,990 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,968,000 after buying an additional 6,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 9.6% during the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 55,575 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,572,000 after buying an additional 4,889 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, EVP Robert M. Klein sold 3,059 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.95, for a total value of $538,231.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,959,216.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 85,938 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.10, for a total value of $14,961,805.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,007,555.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert M. Klein sold 3,059 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.95, for a total value of $538,231.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,959,216.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 176,004 shares of company stock worth $30,547,285. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMS shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 1.1 %

WMS traded up $1.79 on Thursday, hitting $165.13. The company had a trading volume of 18,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 478,672. The firm has a market cap of $12.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.55. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.32 and a 1 year high of $184.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $167.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $653.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.99 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 17.74% and a return on equity of 46.93%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 7.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $0.16 dividend. This is a positive change from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products, and drainage solutions for use in the construction and agriculture marketplaces in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments.