3,448,309 Shares in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,448,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $190,105,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.16% of Ball at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BALL. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ball by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,418,570 shares of the company's stock worth $300,065,000 after purchasing an additional 588,282 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Ball by 55.7% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 8,328 shares of the company's stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,978 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Ball by 4.9% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 28,910 shares of the company's stock worth $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Ball by 25.6% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 89,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,111,000 after buying an additional 18,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Ball by 5.1% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 12,317 shares of the company's stock valued at $836,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company's stock.

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Ball Price Performance

NYSE:BALL traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $49.89. 592,821 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,036,353. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $51.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.60. Ball Co. has a one year low of $48.87 and a one year high of $71.32. The company has a market capitalization of $14.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.99. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. Ball had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 33.98%. Ball's revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ball Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Ball's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.32%.

Ball declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 29th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 24.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $49.00 price objective (down previously from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.30.

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.