Headlands Technologies LLC Makes New Investment in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in Ball by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ball by 328.4% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ball during the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ball by 298.9% in the 4th quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Ball by 35.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ball Stock Down 3.9 %

BALL opened at $48.54 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $51.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.34. 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 twelve month low of $46.54 and a twelve month high of $71.32. The stock has a market cap of $13.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.83, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.01.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. Ball had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 33.98%. Ball’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ball Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BALL. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lowered their price target on Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $49.00 target price (down previously from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Ball from $69.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.30.

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.