Madison Asset Management LLC Acquires New Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 19,452 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,053,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMS. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 352.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 226 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 78.1% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 244 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $206.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $205.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $188.38.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of WMS opened at $142.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $10.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.59, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $128.03 and a 12-month high of $179.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.34.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.39. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 28.28% and a net margin of 14.00%.The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $991.39 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.62 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 Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.82%.

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.