Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Invests $6.91 Million in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 126,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,910,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in Ball by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ball by 328.4% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Ball during the third quarter worth about $66,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Ball in the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ball by 298.9% in the 4th quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Ball Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BALL opened at $50.37 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Ball Co. has a 1-year low of $48.95 and a 1-year high of $71.32. The company has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.98, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $52.34 and a 200-day moving average of $58.16.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. Ball had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 33.98%. Ball’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ball Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ball announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 29th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 24.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BALL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $49.00 price objective (down from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Ball from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.30.

Ball Company Profile

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.