IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Raises Stake in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL)

Key Points

• IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd increased its stake in Ball Corporation by 12.4%, owning 56,681 shares worth approximately $2.95 million after acquiring an additional 6,237 shares.
• Ball Corporation's most recent earnings report showed $0.76 earnings per share, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $3.1 billion for the quarter, reflecting a 7.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, with a yield of 1.4%, and a payout ratio of 47.62% scheduled for payment on September 16th.

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd boosted its position in shares of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) by 12.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,681 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,237 shares during the quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd's holdings in Ball were worth $2,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BALL. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,159,436 shares of the company's stock valued at $229,310,000 after acquiring an additional 840,357 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,055,441 shares of the company's stock worth $168,447,000 after buying an additional 367,798 shares during the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 61.1% in the fourth quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 3,054,393 shares of the company's stock worth $168,389,000 after buying an additional 1,158,668 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,026,421 shares of the company's stock worth $166,847,000 after buying an additional 396,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,147,711 shares of the company's stock worth $118,403,000 after buying an additional 207,244 shares during the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BALL shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ball from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Ball from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ball from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $66.00 price target (down previously from $67.00) on shares of Ball in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ball from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned 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 company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.64.

Ball Price Performance

Shares of Ball stock traded down $1.78 on Wednesday, hitting $52.52. 4,771,950 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,200,745. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.00. Ball Corporation has a 52 week low of $43.51 and a 52 week high of $68.12. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.19.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. Ball had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 16.81%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ball Corporation will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Ball's payout ratio is currently 47.62%.

Ball Company Profile

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.