Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Acquires New Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 176,190 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,314,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd owned approximately 0.23% of Advanced Drainage Systems at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMS. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 352.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 226 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 1,242.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 255 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 341.6% during the second quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 658 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WMS. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $176.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.33.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE WMS opened at $152.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.92 and a 12 month high of $160.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 3.48 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $151.41 and a 200-day moving average of $142.16.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.27. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 28.85%. The firm had revenue of $850.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $802.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. Advanced Drainage Systems’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued 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 was Monday, December 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.29%.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other news, EVP Thomas J. Sr. Waun sold 1,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.30, for a total value of $188,637.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 797 shares in the company, valued at $118,195.10. This trade represents a 61.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Eversole sold 10,569 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.82, for a total value of $1,615,154.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,076 shares in the company, valued at $7,652,614.32. This represents a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 97,772 shares of company stock valued at $14,605,539. Corporate insiders own 1.63% of the company’s stock.

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.