Sone Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 156,047 Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

Sone Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 156,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,603,000. Sone Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Ball at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Ball by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 522 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ball by 328.4% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 664 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake 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 worth approximately $76,000. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ball by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the company's stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company's stock.

Ball Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:BALL traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $53.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,706,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,177,464. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.45 and a 200-day moving average of $53.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.22, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Ball Co. has a 12-month low of $43.51 and a 12-month high of $70.28.

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

Ball Announces Dividend

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

Ball declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 24.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BALL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ball from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Ball from $65.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Ball from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. 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 report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Ball from $83.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ball presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.00.

Ball 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.