NFJ Investment Group LLC Cuts Holdings in Ball Corporation $BALL

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group LLC reduced its holdings in Ball Corporation by 1.0%, owning 526,463 shares worth approximately $27.4 million after selling 5,186 shares in Q1.
• Analysts have raised price targets on Ball shares recently, with some recommending a "buy" while the consensus rating stands at "hold" with a target price of $65.27.
• Ball announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.6%, payable on September 16th to shareholders recorded by September 2nd.

NFJ Investment Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 526,463 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,186 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned about 0.19% of Ball worth $27,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Ball during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its stake in shares of Ball by 72.4% during the first quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 707 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ball during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ball by 764.9% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 813 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Ball by 40.4% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,311 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company's stock.

Ball Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE BALL traded down $0.64 on Wednesday, reaching $49.77. 815,907 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,597,462. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $55.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.20. Ball Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.51 and a 12 month high of $68.12. The company has a market cap of $13.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.03. Ball had a return on equity of 16.81% and a net margin of 4.49%.The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ball has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.550-3.650 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ball Corporation will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Ball's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ball from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $66.00 price target (down previously from $67.00) on shares of Ball in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ball from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ball from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Ball from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Daniel William Fisher sold 3,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.55, for a total value of $175,270.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 10,036 shares in the company, valued at $517,355.80. The trade was a 25.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.