5,274 Shares in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) Purchased by Oxford Asset Management LLP

Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 5,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $291,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BALL. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ball by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,450 shares of the company's stock worth $642,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Ball during the 3rd quarter worth about $510,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Ball by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 33,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Ball by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,954,876 shares of the company's stock worth $453,144,000 after purchasing an additional 309,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its holdings in Ball by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 48,000 shares of the company's stock worth $3,260,000 after buying an additional 8,000 shares during the period. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BALL shares. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Ball from $65.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ball from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $49.00 price target (down previously from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.80.

Ball Stock Performance

NYSE BALL opened at $50.57 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $50.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.19. Ball Co. has a 1 year low of $43.51 and a 1 year high of $71.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.01.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ball Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Ball's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.32%.

Ball declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 24.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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