Ball Corporation $BALL Stock Position Lowered by M&G PLC

M&G PLC decreased its position in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) by 5.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,218,389 shares of the company’s stock after selling 121,778 shares during the period. M&G PLC’s holdings in Ball were worth $124,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Ball during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,310,991,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Ball during the 2nd quarter valued at about $163,768,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Ball during the 2nd quarter valued at about $160,506,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Ball in the 2nd quarter valued at about $143,165,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Ball in the 2nd quarter valued at about $96,380,000. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ball Stock Up 1.2%

BALL stock opened at $66.70 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $17.36 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.94. Ball Corporation has a twelve month low of $46.06 and a twelve month high of $69.57.

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

Ball Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Ball

In related news, SVP Mandy Glew sold 5,626 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,209 shares in the company, valued at $459,934.20. This represents a 43.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BALL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ball from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Ball from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Ball from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ball from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $76.00 price objective (down from $78.00) on shares of Ball in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.

Founded in 1880 as a glass-jar business, Ball grew into a major packaging company and later operated an aerospace business.