Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 5,673 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 175,164 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 5,673 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.23% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $24,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,132 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 11.8% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 280,611 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,231,000 after purchasing an additional 29,657 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 6.0% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 26,854 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.8% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 3,043,909 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $348,709,000 after purchasing an additional 139,495 shares during the period. Finally, ABN Amro Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the second quarter worth about $866,000. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMS. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group set a $215.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $187.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 5.7%

WMS stock opened at $138.84 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $160.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.84. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.92 and a fifty-two week high of $179.32. The firm has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a current ratio of 4.12.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.98%.

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.