Natixis Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ball Corporation by 50.5% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 135,158 shares, bringing their total ownership to 402,617 shares worth approximately $20.96 million.
• Analysts show a mixed sentiment on Ball Corporation, with several firms raising their target prices, contributing to a consensus target price of $64.64 and a rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Ball Corporation recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.4%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 2nd.

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) by 50.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 402,617 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 135,158 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Ball worth $20,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Ball by 11.5% during the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,943 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Ball by 6.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Ball by 11.7% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,938 shares of the company's stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its position in Ball by 0.6% during the first quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 53,359 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,778,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Notis McConarty Edward boosted its position in Ball by 0.8% during the first quarter. Notis McConarty Edward now owns 43,790 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,280,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ball Trading Up 0.8%

BALL stock traded up $0.46 on Monday, reaching $57.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,445,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,003,599. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.16. Ball Corporation has a 12-month low of $43.51 and a 12-month high of $68.12. The firm has a market cap of $15.98 billion, a PE ratio of 17.58, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. Ball had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ball Corporation will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Ball's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BALL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ball from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ball from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Ball from $83.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ball from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $66.00 price objective (down previously from $67.00) on shares of Ball in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.64.

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.