Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) Stake Boosted by New York Life Investment Management LLC

New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,448 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ball were worth $2,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ball during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in Ball by 11.8% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 30,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after buying an additional 3,206 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 5.4% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 70,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,490,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Ball by 6.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 138,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,914,000 after acquiring an additional 8,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ball by 89.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 3,299 shares during the period. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ball Stock Performance

NYSE:BALL opened at $68.59 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $65.82 and a 200-day moving average of $58.97. The firm has a market cap of $21.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Ball Co. has a twelve month low of $42.81 and a twelve month high of $71.32.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. Ball had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 21.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ball Co. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ball declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to buyback 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Ball Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel William Fisher purchased 3,869 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.56 per share, with a total value of $249,782.64. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 111,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,222,068.96. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BALL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Ball in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Ball in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ball from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ball from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ball from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ball currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.15.

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.