Ball Corporation $BALL Stock Position Decreased by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its position in shares of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 47,632 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,600 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Ball were worth $2,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ball in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its holdings in Ball by 58.8% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 8,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 3,264 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Ball by 117.5% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 121,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,817,000 after acquiring an additional 65,742 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Ball by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 18,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 5,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Ball by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,044,000 after acquiring an additional 2,490 shares during the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ball Stock Down 0.2%

BALL opened at $66.67 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $61.51 and a 200-day moving average of $61.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Ball Corporation has a 1-year low of $46.41 and a 1-year high of $69.57.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. Ball had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 18.81%. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. Ball’s revenue was up 23.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ball Corporation will post 4.00 earnings per share for the current year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is 40.20%.

Insider Transactions at Ball

In other Ball news, SVP Mandy Glew sold 5,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total value of $358,938.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,209 shares in the company, valued at $459,934.20. This trade represents a 43.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BALL shares. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $76.00 price target (down from $78.00) on shares of Ball in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on Ball from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ball from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings cut Ball from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Ball from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.15.

About Ball

Ball Corporation is a global supplier of aluminum packaging, best known for making beverage cans and ends for beverage companies. Its products are used for a range of drinks, including beer, soft drinks, energy drinks and other beverages. The company also offers aluminum cups and other specialty packaging products. Ball serves customers across North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Its packaging operations support beverage brands and producers with manufacturing capabilities in multiple regions.