Jump Financial LLC Makes New $454,000 Investment in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 8,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $454,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. 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 bought a new position in Ball in the third quarter valued at approximately $510,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Ball by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 33,094 shares of the company's stock worth $2,247,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Ball by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,954,876 shares of the company's stock valued at $453,144,000 after acquiring an additional 309,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Ball by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 48,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.51% of the company's stock.

Ball Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE BALL traded up $2.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,507,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,114,059. Ball Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.51 and a fifty-two week high of $71.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.15, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

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

Ball announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 29th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 24.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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 paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Ball's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BALL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Ball from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $49.00 target price (down from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.80.

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.