Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Purchases 68,390 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 33.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 271,814 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,390 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $42,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMS. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.6% during the third 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 period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 555 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,020 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 133.3% in the 2nd quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 175 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,411 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of WMS opened at $131.85 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $148.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.48. The company has a market cap of $10.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.53. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $117.97 and a 12-month high of $184.27.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $782.60 million for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is 10.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMS. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $174.00 to $161.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays cut their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $194.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (down from $170.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.29.

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.