17,591 Shares in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) Bought by Nixon Capital LLC

Nixon Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 17,591 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $956,000. Ball comprises approximately 0.3% of Nixon Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BALL. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in Ball by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 522 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ball by 328.4% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 664 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Ball during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ball by 298.9% in the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Ball by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ball Stock Up 4.7 %

BALL traded up $2.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $48.12. The company had a trading volume of 3,255,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,105,809. The company has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a PE ratio of 3.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Ball Co. has a 1-year low of $43.51 and a 1-year high of $71.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $50.58 and a 200-day moving average of $56.48.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. Ball had a net margin of 33.98% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ball Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Ball's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BALL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $49.00 target price (down previously from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Ball from $69.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ball from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.20.

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.