Marshall Financial Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Marshall Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,465 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $1,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 21,479 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,384,276 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $217,553,000 after acquiring an additional 75,455 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 149.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,710 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after acquiring an additional 7,009 shares in the last quarter. Northcape Capital Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northcape Capital Pty Ltd now owns 12,493 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,536,000. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WMS shares. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $192.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $202.00 to $194.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.14.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

WMS opened at $156.79 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.89. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.32 and a 1 year high of $184.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.53.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.08. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 17.09% and a return on equity of 43.60%. The business had revenue of $815.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $828.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

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.