Schroder Investment Management Group Acquires 89,905 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Key Points

• Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE: WMS) by 16.6%, buying 89,905 shares to hold 630,399 shares (about 0.81% of the company) valued at roughly $86.99 million.
• WMS trades near $150.19 with a market capitalization of about $11.7 billion and a trailing P/E of 24.99, and its 52-week range is $93.92 to $179.32.
• Advanced Drainage beat quarterly expectations with $1.27 EPS vs. $1.11 consensus and $693.35M revenue, reported a 15.75% net margin and 27.72% ROE, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 ($0.72 annual, ~0.5% yield; ex-dividend Mar 2, payable Mar 16).

Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 16.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 630,399 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 89,905 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 0.81% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $86,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 115.4% in the second quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 6,462 shares of the construction company's stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 3,462 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,132 shares of the construction company's stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Robeco Schweiz AG lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 332,563 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $38,198,000 after buying an additional 10,622 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 280,611 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $32,231,000 after buying an additional 29,657 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 880,373 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $101,120,000 after buying an additional 6,154 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of WMS opened at $150.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a current ratio of 4.12. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $160.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.91. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.92 and a fifty-two week high of $179.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.70 billion, a PE ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.27.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $693.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $686.37 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.75% and a return on equity of 27.72%. Advanced Drainage Systems's revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio is 11.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 price target on Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $187.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group set a $215.00 target price on Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company 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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