Renaissance Technologies LLC Boosts Stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Get Rating) by 53.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 651,337 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 226,700 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.80% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $53,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 37,432 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,068,000 after acquiring an additional 9,661 shares in the last quarter. Credit Suisse AG lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 182,714 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $14,977,000 after buying an additional 54,969 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 160.3% in the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 4,545 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 2,799 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 845,713 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $69,323,000 after buying an additional 48,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cipher Capital LP lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Cipher Capital LP now owns 6,108 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 1,653 shares in the last quarter. 83.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WMS. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $115.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Monday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $120.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Friday, May 19th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $125.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Friday, May 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $108.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $119.17.

WMS opened at $102.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $87.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.08. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.02 and a 1-year high of $153.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.37.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 18th. The construction company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $617.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $567.10 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 16.51% and a return on equity of 52.49%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. Analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 31st. This is a positive change from Advanced Drainage Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Advanced Drainage Systems's payout ratio is presently 9.23%.

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc engages in the manufacture of thermoplastic corrugated pipe, which provides a suite of water management products and drainage solutions for use in the construction and infrastructure marketplace. It operates through the following segments: Pipe, Infiltrator, International, and Allied Products & Other.

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