Sterling Capital Management LLC Buys 5,847 Shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,538 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,847 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Ball were worth $967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Argent Trust Co lifted its position in Ball by 78.6% in the 4th quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 5,493 shares of the company's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 2,417 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 453,185 shares of the company's stock worth $24,984,000 after purchasing an additional 10,729 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Ball by 431.9% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 203,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,818,000 after buying an additional 165,000 shares during the last quarter. Nixon Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ball during the fourth quarter worth $956,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,159,436 shares of the company's stock worth $229,310,000 after buying an additional 840,357 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.51% of the company's stock.

Ball Stock Performance

BALL traded up $0.36 on Friday, reaching $47.43. The company had a trading volume of 5,596,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,116,731. The stock has a market cap of $13.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.75, 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 quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.00. Ball Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.51 and a fifty-two week high of $71.32. The company's fifty day moving average is $50.27 and its 200 day moving average is $55.87.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Ball had a net margin of 33.98% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The company had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Ball Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Ball's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.32%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BALL has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on Ball from $69.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective 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 dropped their price target on Ball from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Ball from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $49.00 price target (down from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.