Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 76,680 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,673 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $8,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,332,268 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $847,610,000 after acquiring an additional 52,799 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,541,688 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $399,452,000 after purchasing an additional 206,105 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,530,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $291,723,000 after purchasing an additional 650,052 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,402,447 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $162,123,000 after buying an additional 16,415 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,186,878 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $186,578,000 after buying an additional 59,158 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $108.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 3.21. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.90 and a 1 year high of $184.27. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.26. The firm has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.61.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.25). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 15.90%. Equities analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is currently 10.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMS. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $149.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.25.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products in North America and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments. It offers single, double, and triple wall corrugated polypropylene and polyethylene pipes; plastic leachfield chambers and systems; EZflow synthetic aggregate bundles; wastewater purification through mechanical aeration wastewater for residential and commercial systems; septic tanks and accessories; combined treatment and dispersal systems, including advanced enviro-septic and advanced treatment leachfield systems; and allied products, including storm retention/detention and septic chambers, polyvinyl chloride drainage structures, fittings, and water quality filters and separators.