Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) Stake Raised by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,953 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,828 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC owned about 0.08% of Ball worth $11,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Ball by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 522 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ball by 328.4% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 664 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ball in the 4th quarter worth approximately $70,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ball in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ball during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $83,000. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ball Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BALL traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $53.45. 1,701,568 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,204,459. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $50.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.28. The company has a market cap of $14.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.00. Ball Co. has a 52 week low of $43.51 and a 52 week high of $70.07.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. Ball had a net margin of 33.98% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ball Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Ball's payout ratio is 47.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on BALL shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Ball from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ball from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ball from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Ball from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.00.

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.