Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,196 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,896 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ball were worth $2,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BALL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Ball by 66.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,830,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,294,000 after purchasing an additional 5,903,021 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ball during the 4th quarter worth about $139,189,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ball during the 4th quarter worth about $62,202,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Ball by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,979,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,081,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Ball by 146.6% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,470,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,730,000 after purchasing an additional 874,325 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Ball Price Performance

Shares of Ball stock opened at $64.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.50 billion, a PE ratio of 29.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $64.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.30. Ball Co. has a 12 month low of $42.81 and a 12 month high of $67.97.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.56 billion. Ball had a return on equity of 23.81% and a net margin of 5.04%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ball Co. will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BALL shares. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $71.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Ball in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet upgraded Ball from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Ball in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on Ball in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Ball in a research note on Monday, March 18th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Daniel William Fisher purchased 3,869 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $64.56 per share, with a total value of $249,782.64. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 111,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,222,068.96. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

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.