Fmr LLC Sells 948,078 Shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

FMR LLC cut its stake in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,470,492 shares of the company's stock after selling 948,078 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned 1.16% of Ball worth $191,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ball in the 4th quarter worth approximately $190,105,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ball in the 4th quarter valued at $94,861,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ball by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,758,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $427,732,000 after purchasing an additional 803,728 shares during the last quarter. First Merchants Corp raised its position in Ball by 1,335.8% in the 4th quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 619,205 shares of the company's stock worth $34,137,000 after purchasing an additional 576,078 shares during the period. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP boosted its position in Ball by 333.4% during the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 572,017 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,535,000 after buying an additional 440,020 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company's stock.

Ball Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of BALL traded up $0.36 on Friday, reaching $47.43. The stock had a trading volume of 5,596,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,114,189. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.01. Ball Co. has a 12-month low of $43.51 and a 12-month high of $71.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. Ball had a net margin of 33.98% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ball Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

Ball announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 24.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Ball's dividend payout ratio is 6.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BALL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ball from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Ball from $69.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $49.00 price target (down previously from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ball has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.30.

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.