Swedbank AB Raises Holdings in Ball Corporation $BALL

Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) by 83.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 285,534 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 130,279 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Ball were worth $15,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of Ball by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 262,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,930,000 after buying an additional 97,264 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ball in the third quarter worth about $5,570,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ball in the third quarter worth about $464,000. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in shares of Ball by 276.5% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 35,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,889,000 after buying an additional 26,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Merchants Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ball by 125.9% in the fourth quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 75,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,005,000 after buying an additional 42,134 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Fauze Villatoro bought 1,551 shares of Ball stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $64.51 per share, with a total value of $100,055.01. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president directly owned 13,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $888,818.78. The trade was a 12.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kathleen Pitre sold 10,660 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total value of $710,275.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 36,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,450,118.36. The trade was a 22.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BALL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Ball in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $73.00 price target on Ball and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup reduced their price target on Ball from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 price target on Ball in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Ball from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ball has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.54.

Ball Stock Performance

NYSE BALL opened at $56.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.33, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.06. Ball Corporation has a twelve month low of $44.83 and a twelve month high of $68.29. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $59.85 and a 200 day moving average of $57.31.

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

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.12%.

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.