By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Eukles Asset Management trimmed its position in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL – Free Report) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 61,546 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,338 shares during the period. Ball comprises 1.4% of Eukles Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Eukles Asset Management’s holdings in Ball were worth $3,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Ball by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,418,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,065,000 after buying an additional 588,282 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Ball by 4.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,954,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,144,000 after acquiring an additional 309,587 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Ball by 402.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 265,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,014,000 after acquiring an additional 212,430 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ball by 400.4% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 162,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,048,000 after acquiring an additional 130,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ball by 167.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 175,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,440,000 after purchasing an additional 110,053 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.
Ball Trading Down 1.6 %
Ball stock opened at $50.46 on Monday. Ball Co. has a 52-week low of $50.44 and a 52-week high of $71.32. The company has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.91.
Ball (NYSE:BALL – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Ball had a net margin of 33.98% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The company had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Ball Co. will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.
Ball announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 24.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Ball Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.32%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages recently commented on BALL. Mizuho raised shares of Ball from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial cut their target price on Ball from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.50.
View Our Latest Analysis on BALL
About Ball
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.
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