KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases New Stake in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 105,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,822,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ball in the fourth quarter worth approximately $94,861,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Ball by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,418,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,065,000 after buying an additional 588,282 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp lifted its position in Ball by 1,335.8% in the 4th quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 619,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,137,000 after buying an additional 576,078 shares in the last quarter. LBP AM SA boosted its stake in shares of Ball by 124.4% during the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 587,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,367,000 after buying an additional 325,497 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ball by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,954,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,144,000 after acquiring an additional 309,587 shares in the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ball Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:BALL opened at $50.37 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $52.34 and its 200-day moving average is $58.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Ball Co. has a 12 month low of $48.95 and a 12 month high of $71.32. The firm has a market cap of $14.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.99.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Ball had a net margin of 33.98% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Ball Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

Ball Announces Dividend

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

Ball announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 29th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 24.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on BALL shares. Mizuho upgraded Ball from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Ball from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ball has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.30.

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.