First Trust Advisors LP Has $200.32 Million Stock Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 45.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,732,827 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 544,109 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 2.24% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $200,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 2,607 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 31.8% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,011 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $230,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 73,203 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,554,000 after acquiring an additional 4,221 shares during the period. Finally, Northcape Capital Pty Ltd raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Northcape Capital Pty Ltd now owns 16,509 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,908,000 after purchasing an additional 4,016 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on WMS shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, February 7th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $134.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $153.78.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 0.8 %

WMS stock opened at $104.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $110.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.75. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.92 and a 12 month high of $184.27.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.25). Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 35.79%. As a group, equities 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 Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is presently 10.70%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile

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.