Ball Corporation $BALL Stock Holdings Raised by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. grew its position in shares of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) by 401.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 40,742 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,614 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Ball were worth $2,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ball during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ball in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ball in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ball by 87.9% during the 3rd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mandy Glew sold 5,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total value of $358,938.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $459,934.20. This trade represents a 43.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Ball Stock Down 1.6%

Ball stock opened at $65.75 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $61.57 and a 200 day moving average of $61.26. Ball Corporation has a one year low of $46.41 and a one year high of $69.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $17.11 billion, a PE ratio of 33.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Ball Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BALL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Ball from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ball from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Ball from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ball from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ball from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.15.

Ball Company Profile

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.