B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Invests $4.75 Million in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG opened a $4.75 million position in Advanced Drainage Systems by purchasing 30,267 shares. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 89.83% of WMS.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook, with seven Buy ratings and two Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $188.38.
• Advanced Drainage Systems exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.49 in EPS versus $2.10 estimated and $1 billion in revenue, up 20.6% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 30,267 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $4,751,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMS. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 406.0% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 27,302 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,954,000 after buying an additional 21,906 shares during the period. Pier Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 69,891.7% in the fourth quarter. Pier Capital LLC now owns 50,394 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,299,000 after acquiring an additional 50,322 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 32.9% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,204,801 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $302,290,000 after acquiring an additional 546,298 shares during the last quarter. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,283,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $156,587,000. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WMS shares. Robert W. Baird set a $206.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $205.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $188.38.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMS opened at $143.91 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.31. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $128.03 and a 1-year high of $179.32. The firm has a market cap of $10.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $991.39 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 28.28% and a net margin of 14.00%.The business's revenue was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.95 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Advanced Drainage Systems's payout ratio is 13.82%.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

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.

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