Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Has $2.58 Million Stake in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,815 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,120 shares during the quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Ball were worth $2,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Ball by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 9,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Ball by 7.5% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ball by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 216,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,692,000 after acquiring an additional 25,048 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ball by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 11,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ball by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 9,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 901 shares during the period. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ball Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of BALL stock opened at $51.82 on Wednesday. Ball Co. has a 12-month low of $48.95 and a 12-month high of $71.32. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $52.57 and a 200-day moving average of $58.62. The company has a market capitalization of $14.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.99.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. Ball had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 33.98%. The company’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ball Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 purchase up to 24.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Ball’s payout ratio is 6.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on BALL. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho raised Ball from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Ball from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.64.

Ball 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.