4,557 Shares in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS Acquired by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,557 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $632,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 352.0% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 226 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 177.4% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 430 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 341.6% in the second quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 658 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 16.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 702 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other news, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 80,030 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.95, for a total value of $11,920,468.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,385,039.65. The trade was a 65.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Eversole sold 10,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.82, for a total transaction of $1,615,154.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,652,614.32. This trade represents a 17.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,772 shares of company stock worth $14,605,539. Insiders own 1.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on WMS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $176.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.22.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 0.8%

WMS opened at $155.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 3.48, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.92 and a 12 month high of $160.85. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.55.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $850.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $802.49 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 28.85% and a net margin of 15.35%.The company’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is presently 12.29%.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

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.