Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Buys 20,149 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 43.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,007 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,149 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $10,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMS. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 21,711 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,412,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,271 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 123.1% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 386 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 609,497 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $95,789,000 after buying an additional 1,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the third quarter valued at $426,000. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (down from $170.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $194.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.29.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE WMS traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $132.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 48,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 501,752. The company has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.98 and a 52 week high of $184.27. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.76.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $782.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.41 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 40.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.71 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 10.19%.

Advanced Drainage Systems 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.