Milford Funds Ltd. Takes $15.64 Million Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Milford Funds Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 108,000 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,642,000. Milford Funds Ltd. owned about 0.14% of Advanced Drainage Systems at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cullen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,002 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 161.0% during the 4th quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 199,858 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,945,000 after acquiring an additional 123,282 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $293,000. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,402,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:WMS opened at $134.66 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $141.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.29. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.63 and a 12-month high of $179.32.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $676.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.92 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 26.63% and a net margin of 13.98%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is currently 14.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WMS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $198.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays cut their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $198.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.75.

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.