Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Boosts Stock Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 7.0% in the first quarter, ending with 212,849 shares valued at about $28.0 million.
• Other institutional investors also added to positions, and 89.83% of the stock is held by institutions, signaling strong professional ownership interest.
• Advanced Drainage Systems reported better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $1.07 on revenue of $676.76 million, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $0.20 per share.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 212,849 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,844 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd owned approximately 0.27% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $27,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 12.0% during the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 139,885 shares of the construction company's stock worth $19,182,000 after purchasing an additional 14,933 shares during the last quarter. Future Fund LLC increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 27.1% in the 1st quarter. Future Fund LLC now owns 27,329 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,748,000 after buying an additional 5,827 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,764,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 70.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 395 shares of the construction company's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 519,242 shares of the construction company's stock worth $71,204,000 after buying an additional 29,037 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on WMS. Stephens raised Advanced Drainage Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Zacks Research lowered Advanced Drainage Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $187.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of WMS stock opened at $147.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.14, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $142.09 and a 200-day moving average of $148.92. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $110.79 and a 12-month high of $179.32.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $676.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.92 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. Advanced Drainage Systems's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Advanced Drainage Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Advanced Drainage Systems's payout ratio is currently 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.

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