Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Buys 46,746 Shares of Ball Corporation $BALL

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 46,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,648,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BALL. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Ball during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 135.0% in the 1st quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ball in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ball by 87.9% during the 3rd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in shares of Ball during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Ball Stock Performance

Ball stock opened at $65.88 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Ball Corporation has a twelve month low of $46.06 and a twelve month high of $69.57. The company has a market capitalization of $17.15 billion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.94.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. Ball had a return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 3.52%. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Ball Corporation will post 4.00 EPS for the current year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. Ball’s payout ratio is 40.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ball

In related news, SVP Mandy Glew sold 5,626 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total transaction of $358,938.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,209 shares in the company, valued at $459,934.20. This represents a 43.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Ball

Here are the key news stories impacting Ball this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $77 from $75 and maintained a Buy rating; RBC also lifted its target to $77, from $73, and kept its Outperform rating. Both targets imply about 17% upside from the cited $65.88 share price. Citigroup price-target report RBC analyst recommendations
• Positive Sentiment: Truist reiterated its Buy rating, signaling continued confidence in Ball’s prospects. Truist rating report
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS raised its target to $68 from $63 but kept a Neutral rating, suggesting a more modest view of potential gains. UBS price-target report
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho set a new $75 price target. Ball’s reported consensus target is $71.46, reflecting generally positive expectations but some variation among analysts. Mizuho price-target report Consensus price-target report
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan cut Ball’s rating to Neutral, a cautious counterpoint to the recent target increases. JPMorgan rating report

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BALL shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on Ball from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings lowered Ball from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Ball from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Ball from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ball from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.15.

Ball Profile

Ball Corporation is a global supplier of aluminum packaging, best known for making beverage cans and ends for beverage companies. Its products are used for a range of drinks, including beer, soft drinks, energy drinks and other beverages. The company also offers aluminum cups and other specialty packaging products.

Ball serves customers across North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Its packaging operations support beverage brands and producers with manufacturing capabilities in multiple regions.

Founded in 1880 as a glass-jar business, Ball grew into a major packaging company and later operated an aerospace business.