Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Buys 8,892 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Key Points

• Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 11.6%, bringing its total to approximately 0.11% of the company's stock, valued at $9,297,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Advanced Drainage Systems; while Robert W. Baird and Loop Capital have set target prices below current levels, seven analysts still maintain a buy rating, with a consensus price target of $139.88.
• Advanced Drainage Systems reported earnings of $1.03 per share, missing estimates, and announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.16 to $0.18 per share.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 11.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,572 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,892 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.11% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $9,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 14.8% in the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,904,414 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $314,700,000 after buying an additional 374,414 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 63.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,064,527 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $238,659,000 after buying an additional 799,569 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 45.8% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,732,827 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $200,315,000 after buying an additional 544,109 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,192,746 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $137,924,000 after buying an additional 5,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 18.3% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 874,219 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $94,984,000 after buying an additional 135,470 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMS. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $143.00 to $133.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group cut their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $155.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Advanced Drainage Systems from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. KeyCorp cut their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

WMS traded down $1.93 on Wednesday, hitting $116.98. 575,801 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 683,750. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.24. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.92 and a 52 week high of $179.57. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $114.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.57. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The construction company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $615.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $653.22 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. This is a boost from Advanced Drainage Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Advanced Drainage Systems's payout ratio is presently 12.50%.

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.