Advisors Capital Management LLC Acquires New Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Advisors Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 32,004 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,439,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 32.9% in the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,122 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,901,000 after buying an additional 6,960 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $24,314,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,321,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 345.7% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 42,898 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,950,000 after acquiring an additional 33,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 19,982 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,772,000 after purchasing an additional 4,574 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $176.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group set a $215.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:WMS opened at $170.26 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $13.26 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.34. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $93.92 and a twelve month high of $179.32. The company has a current ratio of 4.12, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company’s 50 day moving average is $156.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.01.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $693.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $686.37 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.75% and a return on equity of 27.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is presently 11.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other news, Director Robert M. Eversole sold 10,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.82, for a total value of $1,615,154.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,076 shares in the company, valued at $7,652,614.32. This trade represents a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.63% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc (NYSE: WMS) is a leading manufacturer and supplier of water management solutions in North America. Headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, the company specializes in the design, production and distribution of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) drainage pipe and related products. Its core business addresses stormwater management, on-site septic systems and erosion control for residential, commercial and infrastructure projects.

The company’s product portfolio includes corrugated plastic pipe, tubing, fittings, geocells, geogrids and stormwater structures such as inlets, manholes and detention/retention systems.