Retirement Systems of Alabama Acquires 65,742 Shares of Ball Corporation $BALL

Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) by 117.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 121,674 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 65,742 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Ball were worth $6,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ball during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ball by 135.0% in the 1st quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ball during the second quarter worth $30,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ball by 87.9% during the third quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 592 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in shares of Ball during the second quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Ball Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of BALL traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $65.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,191,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,498,071. The business has a fifty day moving average of $61.65 and a 200 day moving average of $61.34. The company has a market cap of $17.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.94. Ball Corporation has a 1 year low of $46.65 and a 1 year high of $69.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. Ball had a return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 3.52%. Ball’s revenue was up 23.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Ball Corporation will post 4.00 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BALL shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Ball from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ball from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $76.00 price objective (down from $78.00) on shares of Ball in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Ball from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ball from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ball has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ball news, SVP Mandy Glew sold 5,626 shares of Ball stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total transaction of $358,938.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $459,934.20. The trade was a 43.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Ball

Ball Corporation is a global supplier of aluminum packaging, best known for making beverage cans and ends for beverage companies. Its products are used for a range of drinks, including beer, soft drinks, energy drinks and other beverages. The company also offers aluminum cups and other specialty packaging products. Ball serves customers across North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Its packaging operations support beverage brands and producers with manufacturing capabilities in multiple regions.