Ameriprise Financial Inc. Raises Holdings in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 768,087 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,863 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Ball worth $42,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BALL. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in Ball by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 522 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Ball by 328.4% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ball during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ball during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ball by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Ball Price Performance

NYSE:BALL opened at $52.18 on Monday. Ball Co. has a one year low of $43.51 and a one year high of $70.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $14.48 billion, a PE ratio of 4.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $50.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.18.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.07. Ball had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 33.98%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ball Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.62%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ball from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ball from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Ball from $83.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ball presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.40.

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.