Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Increases Holdings in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,135 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,559 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Ball were worth $933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in Ball by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ball by 1.2% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 10,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $556,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in Ball by 2.0% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 10,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ball by 29.1% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ball Stock Up 1.8 %

Ball stock opened at $51.35 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $53.74 and a 200-day moving average of $59.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.33 billion, a PE ratio of 4.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.94. Ball Co. has a twelve month low of $48.95 and a twelve month high of $71.32.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ball Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ball declared that its board has approved a stock 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 repurchase up to 24.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Ball’s payout ratio is presently 6.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BALL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $49.00 target price (down from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Ball from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.25.

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.