Fifth Third Bancorp Acquires 40,552 Shares of Ball Corporation $BALL

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp increased its Ball Corp. stake by 418.2% in the first quarter, buying 40,552 additional shares and bringing its total to 50,248 shares worth about $2.97 million.
• Ball reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.94 beating estimates and revenue of $3.60 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 16.3% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, while analysts remain generally positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $70.85.

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) by 418.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,248 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 40,552 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Ball were worth $2,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ball in the fourth quarter valued at about $178,025,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ball by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,658,732 shares of the company's stock worth $299,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,830,434 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC raised its holdings in shares of Ball by 242.9% in the fourth quarter. M&G PLC now owns 2,326,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,648,303 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ball by 1,465.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314,786 shares of the company's stock worth $73,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Ball by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,886,681 shares of the company's stock worth $1,000,429,000 after purchasing an additional 999,690 shares in the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ball Stock Performance

BALL opened at $62.22 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.12. Ball Corporation has a 52-week low of $44.83 and a 52-week high of $68.29. The firm has a market cap of $16.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.98. The business's fifty day moving average is $58.23 and its 200-day moving average is $59.89.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.09. Ball had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 18.69%. The business had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. Ball has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.930- EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ball Corporation will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Ball's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on BALL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Ball in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Ball from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial set a $73.00 target price on shares of Ball and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ball from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Ball from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.85.

About Ball

Ball Corporation is a leading provider of sustainable aluminum packaging solutions and advanced aerospace technologies. Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, the company serves customers in the beverage, food and aerosol markets through a global network of manufacturing facilities. With an emphasis on sustainability and innovation, Ball designs and produces metal cans, bottles and ends that support recycling and reduce environmental impact.

The company's packaging segment specializes in beverage cans for soft drinks, beer and energy drinks, as well as metal packaging for food and personal care applications.

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