Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Has $9.47 Million Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. cut its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 20.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,373 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 16,559 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $9,468,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMS. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 352.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 226 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 150.8% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 301 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 377 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WMS. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $198.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Stephens raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $168.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Monday, April 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of WMS opened at $135.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.29. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $105.14 and a 52 week high of $179.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $142.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.12. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 26.63% and a net margin of 13.98%.The company had revenue of $676.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is presently 14.71%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc (NYSE: WMS) is a leading manufacturer and supplier of water management solutions in North America. Headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, the company specializes in the design, production and distribution of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) drainage pipe and related products. Its core business addresses stormwater management, on-site septic systems and erosion control for residential, commercial and infrastructure projects.

The company’s product portfolio includes corrugated plastic pipe, tubing, fittings, geocells, geogrids and stormwater structures such as inlets, manholes and detention/retention systems.