Cresset Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

Cresset Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) by 72.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 100,084 shares of the company's stock after selling 268,735 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in Ball were worth $5,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Ball by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 10,082 shares of the company's stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Ball by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 522 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ball by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 26,729 shares of the company's stock worth $1,474,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. Crumly & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ball by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 9,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Ball by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company's stock.

Ball Stock Performance

BALL stock traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.18. 1,711,318 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,127,786. Ball Co. has a 1-year low of $43.51 and a 1-year high of $70.97. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $50.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.33. The firm has a market cap of $14.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.12, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.10.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.91 billion. Ball had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 33.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ball Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Ball Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Ball's payout ratio is 47.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on BALL shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Ball from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ball from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Ball from $83.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Ball from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.40.

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.