Parnassus Investments LLC Has $1.36 Billion Holdings in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

Parnassus Investments LLC cut its holdings in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,035,348 shares of the company's stock after selling 641,404 shares during the period. Ball comprises approximately 2.9% of Parnassus Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Parnassus Investments LLC owned approximately 6.71% of Ball worth $1,360,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BALL. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ball during the third quarter worth $30,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Ball during the second quarter worth $47,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ball during the third quarter worth $47,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Ball by 598.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 999 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ball by 334.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ball Price Performance

BALL traded down $0.95 on Tuesday, hitting $59.91. 2,271,633 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,812,346. Ball Co. has a 12 month low of $51.65 and a 12 month high of $71.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $64.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.56, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04. Ball had a net margin of 34.05% and a return on equity of 17.46%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. Ball's revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ball Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Ball's dividend payout ratio is 6.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on BALL. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ball from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ball from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ball from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ball from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Ball from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.75.

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.