Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 398,197 Shares of Ball Corporation $BALL

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) by 96.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,614 shares of the company’s stock after selling 398,197 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ball were worth $923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Ball by 58.7% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 262,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,930,000 after buying an additional 97,264 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of Ball by 276.5% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 35,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after acquiring an additional 26,184 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP bought a new position in shares of Ball during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,485,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ball by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 673,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,676,000 after acquiring an additional 40,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ball during the fourth quarter worth about $4,349,000. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on BALL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ball from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Ball from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ball from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Truist Financial set a $78.00 target price on Ball in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Ball from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.69.

Ball Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of BALL opened at $63.47 on Monday. Ball Corporation has a 1-year low of $44.83 and a 1-year high of $68.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $60.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.98, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.98.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. Ball had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 18.76%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Ball’s revenue was up 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ball has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.930- EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ball Corporation will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.66%.

Ball Profile

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.