Gallacher Capital Management LLC Makes New $282,000 Investment in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 1,639 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Tobam bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $182.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 85,938 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.10, for a total transaction of $14,961,805.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,007,555.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 85,938 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.10, for a total transaction of $14,961,805.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,007,555.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert M. Klein sold 3,059 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 102,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,959,216.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 176,004 shares of company stock worth $30,547,285. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

NYSE WMS traded up $2.19 on Friday, hitting $164.78. The stock had a trading volume of 73,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 481,894. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.32 and a 52-week high of $184.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.96. The company has a market capitalization of $12.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $167.45 and a 200-day moving average of $158.22.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $611.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 7.17 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. This is a boost from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.