Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning Sells 982 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning reduced its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 34.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,891 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 982 shares during the period. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 29.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 273 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 32,367 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,552,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 28,848 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,057,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,233 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,872,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $182.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 85,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.10, for a total value of $14,961,805.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,994 shares in the company, valued at $8,007,555.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 85,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.10, for a total value of $14,961,805.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,994 shares in the company, valued at $8,007,555.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Tim A. Makowski sold 3,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.68, for a total transaction of $648,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $773,180.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 176,004 shares of company stock valued at $30,547,285 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMS opened at $155.92 on Thursday. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.32 and a 1 year high of $184.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.96 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $168.01 and its 200 day moving average is $157.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.55.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.28. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 17.74% and a return on equity of 46.93%. The business had revenue of $653.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. Advanced Drainage Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. This is a positive change from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products, and drainage solutions for use in the construction and agriculture marketplaces in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments.