MetLife Investment Management LLC Buys 646 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,662 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $5,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,384,276 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $217,553,000 after buying an additional 75,455 shares in the last quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems during the third quarter valued at approximately $8,540,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 800.5% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 18,353 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,944,000 after purchasing an additional 16,315 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,096,000. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 206,970 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,196,000 after purchasing an additional 8,468 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

WMS stock opened at $135.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $147.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 3.19. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.26 and a 52-week high of $184.27.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is presently 10.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WMS. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down from $170.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price 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. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $194.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.29.

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.