Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Acquires 78,402 Shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. increased its holdings in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,128,228 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 78,402 shares during the quarter. Ball accounts for about 1.8% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned approximately 0.36% of Ball worth $62,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in shares of Ball by 80.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ball during the third quarter worth $29,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Ball during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ball during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ball Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Ball stock traded down $0.18 on Thursday, reaching $70.35. 770,024 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,899,160. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $66.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.23. The company has a market capitalization of $21.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.21. Ball Co. has a 52 week low of $42.81 and a 52 week high of $71.32.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.12. Ball had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 21.79%. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ball Co. will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ball announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel William Fisher bought 3,869 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $64.56 per share, with a total value of $249,782.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,222,068.96. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BALL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ball from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Ball in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ball in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ball from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Ball from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.23.

Ball Company Profile

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.