Cetera Trust Company N.A Buys New Shares in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,655 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $373,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMS. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 47.8% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 495 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $124,351,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 70,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,532,087. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.52, for a total value of $1,635,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,199,344. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $124,351,885.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 70,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,532,087. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WMS shares. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $138.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.13.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

NYSE:WMS traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $155.57. 699,983 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 382,365. The company has a current ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.41 and a twelve month high of $176.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $164.78 and a 200 day moving average of $139.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.50.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.44. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 49.79% and a net margin of 17.65%. The company had revenue of $662.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $632.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.90%.

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.