Ball Corporation $BALL Stake Lifted by RWC Asset Management LLP

Key Points

• RWC Asset Management increased its Ball stake by 709.5% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 64,310 shares valued at approximately $3.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.51% of Ball’s stock.
• Ball reported quarterly EPS of $1.03, exceeding the $0.99 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 19.7% year over year to $4 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equal to a 1.2% annual yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71, despite some recent price-target cuts and a downgrade from Citigroup.

RWC Asset Management LLP lifted its stake in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) by 709.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,310 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 56,366 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP's holdings in Ball were worth $3,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Ball in the second quarter valued at $1,310,991,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Ball by 8.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,416,598 shares of the company's stock worth $837,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024,861 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ball by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,999,409 shares of the company's stock valued at $354,605,000 after purchasing an additional 340,677 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Ball in the 2nd quarter valued at about $163,768,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Ball in the 2nd quarter valued at about $160,506,000. 86.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ball

In other Ball news, SVP Mandy Glew sold 5,626 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total transaction of $358,938.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $459,934.20. This represents a 43.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Ball Stock Performance

Shares of BALL stock traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $64.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,806,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,337,870. The stock has a market cap of $17.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $60.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.41. Ball Corporation has a 52-week low of $44.83 and a 52-week high of $68.29.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. Ball had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 6.61%. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Ball has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.930- EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ball Corporation will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. Ball's payout ratio is currently 22.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BALL shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ball from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Citigroup cut Ball from a "buy" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Ball from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Truist Financial set a $78.00 target price on shares of Ball in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ball from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.00.

About Ball

Ball Corporation is a global supplier of sustainable aluminum packaging. The company primarily manufactures aluminum beverage cans, bottles and cups used by beer, soft-drink, energy-drink and other beverage companies. Its products are designed to support brand presentation, product protection and recycling throughout the packaging lifecycle.

Ball serves customers across North and South America, Europe and other international markets through a network of manufacturing facilities. The company also develops and markets aluminum packaging products for additional consumer and household applications, including its reusable and recyclable Ball Aluminum Cup.

Founded in 1880 as a manufacturer of glass containers, Ball evolved into a major producer of metal packaging and became particularly known for its aluminum beverage cans.

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