T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Sells 2,142,352 Shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,914,855 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,142,352 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 5.00% of Ball worth $822,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Ball Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of BALL stock opened at $48.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.82, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $50.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.55. Ball Co. has a one year low of $43.51 and a one year high of $71.32.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Ball Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Ball Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued 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 1.65%. Ball's payout ratio is presently 6.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BALL. Barclays lowered their price target on Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Ball from $69.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $49.00 price objective (down from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ball presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.80.

About Ball

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.

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