USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 53,028 Shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

USS Investment Management Ltd trimmed its stake in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) by 49.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,326 shares of the company's stock after selling 53,028 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Ball were worth $2,995,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in Ball by 68.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ball by 328.4% during the fourth 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 bought a new stake in shares of Ball during the fourth quarter worth approximately $70,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ball during the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ball by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the company's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ball Stock Up 0.6%

BALL traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $53.17. 461,364 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,187,291. Ball Co. has a 1 year low of $43.51 and a 1 year high of $70.07. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $50.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.75 billion, a PE ratio of 4.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.10. 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 (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.91 billion. Ball had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 33.98%. The company's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ball Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

Ball Announces Dividend

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

Ball announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 29th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 24.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BALL shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ball from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Ball from $65.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.00.

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.