Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 151,968 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,275 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Ball were worth $8,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ball during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ball by 328.4% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Ball during the third quarter worth about $66,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ball by 29.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Ball in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,000. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ball Price Performance

Ball stock opened at $52.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.78 billion, a PE ratio of 4.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.99. Ball Co. has a 52 week low of $48.95 and a 52 week high of $71.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ball Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ball declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 24.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BALL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup cut 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. Mizuho raised Ball from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ball from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $49.00 price target (down from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ball currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.64.

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.