Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Has $18.43 Million Stock Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 159,424 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 6,470 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned 0.21% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $18,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMS. Triodos Investment Management BV boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV now owns 539,811 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,402,000 after purchasing an additional 60,500 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $86,185,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 273,248 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $31,587,000 after buying an additional 22,798 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 164.7% in the fourth quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 62,237 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,195,000 after acquiring an additional 7,896 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WMS shares. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $149.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.25.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $111.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.90 and a 12 month high of $184.27. The stock has a market cap of $8.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.56.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.25). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 15.90%. Research analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.70%.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

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.