Ball Corp. (BALL)

Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) Shares Bought by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL – Free Report) by 39.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,910 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,504 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Ball were worth $512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Ball by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,252,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,020,000 after purchasing an additional 143,005 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Ball by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,469,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,149,000 after buying an additional 282,114 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ball by 82.8% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 309,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,430,000 after buying an additional 140,440 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Ball by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 389,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,384,000 after acquiring an additional 16,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ball by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 85,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,245,000 after acquiring an additional 17,215 shares during the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Insider Buying and Selling In other news, insider Daniel William Fisher purchased 3,869 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $64.56 per share, with a total value of $249,782.64. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 111,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,222,068.96. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders. Ball Stock Down 0.2 % BALL stock opened at $70.11 on Monday. Ball Co. has a one year low of $42.81 and a one year high of $71.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average of $66.98 and a 200-day moving average of $60.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.76 billion, a PE ratio of 5.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.87. Ball (NYSE:BALL – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.12. Ball had a return on equity of 21.79% and a net margin of 31.42%. The company had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Ball Co. will post 3.09 EPS for the current year. Ball declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback 40,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued. Ball Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.02%. Analysts Set New Price Targets BALL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on Ball from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Ball in a research note on Monday, March 18th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ball from $59.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Wolfe Research began coverage on Ball in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ball from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.23. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on BALL Ball Company Profile (Free Report) Ball Corporation supplies aluminum packaging products for the beverage, personal care, and household products industries in the United States, Brazil, and internationally. The company manufactures and sells aluminum beverage containers to fillers of carbonated soft drinks, beer, energy drinks, and other beverages. See Also Five stocks we like better than Ball Stock Market Sectors: What Are They and How Many Are There? MarketBeat Week in Review – 5/13 – 5/17 How to Invest in Small Cap Stocks Take-Two Interactive Software Offers 2nd Chance for Investors What is the S&P/TSX Index? Deere & Company’s Q2 Report: Strong Revenue, Cautious Outlook