8,145 Shares in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS Acquired by Cibc World Market Inc.

Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 8,145 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,278,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,172,482,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the fourth quarter worth $156,587,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 234.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,188,906 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $164,901,000 after purchasing an additional 832,929 shares during the period. Amundi increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 80.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,279,576 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $185,324,000 after purchasing an additional 572,193 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 546,298 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, July 17th. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Stephens upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $205.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $188.70.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of WMS stock opened at $139.16 on Friday. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $128.03 and a fifty-two week high of $179.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $146.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 2.12. The company has a market cap of $10.49 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.27.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.39. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 28.28% and a net margin of 14.00%.The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $991.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.95 EPS. Advanced Drainage Systems’s revenue was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is currently 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.