41,636 Shares in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Acquired by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 41,636 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,544,000. Verition Fund Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Advanced Drainage Systems as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMS. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 136.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 312,393 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $50,105,000 after purchasing an additional 180,154 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,870,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems during the second quarter worth $21,657,000. Fernbridge Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 108.2% in the third quarter. Fernbridge Capital Management LP now owns 253,549 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,848,000 after acquiring an additional 131,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 28.5% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 579,485 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $91,683,000 after acquiring an additional 128,539 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WMS. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down from $170.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $174.00 to $161.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Barclays reduced their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $194.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.29.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

WMS stock opened at $135.29 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $147.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.23. The company has a market cap of $10.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.26 and a 12-month high of $184.27.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.23). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 40.31% and a net margin of 16.89%. The business had revenue of $782.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $819.41 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.5 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.19%.

Advanced Drainage Systems 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.