3,360,864 Shares in Ball Corporation $BALL Bought by Norges Bank

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,360,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $178,025,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BALL. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ball by 1,465.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230,791 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its position in shares of Ball by 141.3% during the third quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,248,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,949,000 after acquiring an additional 731,076 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Ball by 55.1% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,055,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,270,000 after acquiring an additional 730,462 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ball by 14.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,651,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,521,000 after acquiring an additional 602,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Cayman LP bought a new position in shares of Ball during the fourth quarter worth $26,485,000. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BALL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ball from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Ball from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Ball from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ball in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ball in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.54.

Ball Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of BALL opened at $52.88 on Thursday. Ball Corporation has a twelve month low of $44.83 and a twelve month high of $68.29. The company has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.66.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. Ball had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 18.69%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. Ball has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.930- EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ball Corporation will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.12%.

About Ball

Ball Corporation is a leading provider of sustainable aluminum packaging solutions and advanced aerospace technologies. Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, the company serves customers in the beverage, food and aerosol markets through a global network of manufacturing facilities. With an emphasis on sustainability and innovation, Ball designs and produces metal cans, bottles and ends that support recycling and reduce environmental impact.

The company’s packaging segment specializes in beverage cans for soft drinks, beer and energy drinks, as well as metal packaging for food and personal care applications.