The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 10,112 Shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 168,887 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,112 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.06% of Ball worth $9,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ball during the 4th quarter worth about $190,105,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Ball in the 4th quarter valued at $94,861,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ball by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,159,436 shares of the company's stock worth $229,310,000 after purchasing an additional 840,357 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ball by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,758,604 shares of the company's stock worth $427,732,000 after acquiring an additional 803,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Merchants Corp grew its position in Ball by 1,335.8% in the 4th quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 619,205 shares of the company's stock worth $34,137,000 after purchasing an additional 576,078 shares during the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ball Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Ball stock traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $52.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,711,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,126,078. The company has a market capitalization of $14.73 billion, a PE ratio of 4.12, 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 current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.24 and a 200 day moving average of $54.42. Ball Co. has a 12 month low of $43.51 and a 12 month high of $70.97.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Ball Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Ball announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 29th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 24.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Ball's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BALL shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Ball from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. 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 report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays reduced their target price on Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.40.

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.