New England Research & Management Inc. Invests $525,000 in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

New England Research & Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,050 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $525,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Avalon Trust Co bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 0.7 %

Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $160.39 on Friday. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.32 and a 52-week high of $184.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.01. The company has a market cap of $12.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.58.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $611.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 7.17 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. This is a positive change from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Robert M. Klein sold 3,059 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.95, for a total value of $538,231.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,959,216.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, EVP Robert M. Klein sold 3,059 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.95, for a total transaction of $538,231.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,959,216.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 85,938 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.10, for a total value of $14,961,805.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 45,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,007,555.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 176,004 shares of company stock worth $30,547,285 in the last three months. 2.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Stephens raised 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 note on Friday, May 17th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.88.

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.