Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Purchases Shares of 185,005 Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 185,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,199,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BALL. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in Ball by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 522 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ball by 328.4% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ball in the fourth quarter worth $70,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Ball during the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Ball by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the period. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ball Price Performance

Ball stock opened at $53.58 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $50.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.46. Ball Co. has a 1 year low of $43.51 and a 1 year high of $70.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.23, a P/E/G 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) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ball Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on BALL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ball from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ball from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ball from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Ball from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.00.

About Ball

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.