Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) Shares Sold by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. lowered its holdings in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) by 17.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,815 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,104 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Ball were worth $862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in Ball by 0.7% in the second quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 20,340,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,184,039,000 after purchasing an additional 136,629 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Ball by 66.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,830,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $817,294,000 after acquiring an additional 5,903,021 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Ball by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,979,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,081,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,145 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ball by 0.6% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,700,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,473,000 after purchasing an additional 37,672 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ball by 5.6% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,482,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,125,000 after purchasing an additional 291,961 shares during the period. 84.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ball Stock Up 1.0 %

BALL stock opened at $52.38 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $48.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.11. Ball Co. has a twelve month low of $42.81 and a twelve month high of $62.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market cap of $16.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.28, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.85.

Ball Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BALL shares. Credit Suisse Group downgraded shares of Ball from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ball from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ball from $55.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 19th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ball from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Ball from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ball currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.40.

Insider Activity at Ball

In other Ball news, insider David A. Kaufman sold 3,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.41, for a total transaction of $200,206.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $464,405.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Ball news, insider David A. Kaufman sold 3,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.41, for a total value of $200,206.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,861 shares in the company, valued at $464,405.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Deron Goodwin sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.85, for a total value of $26,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $634,252.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ball Company Profile

Ball Corp. provides metal packaging for beverages, foods, and household products. It operates through the following business segments: Beverage Packaging North and Central America, Beverage Packaging South America, Beverage Packaging Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and Aerospace. The Beverage Packaging North and Central America segment includes multi-year supply contracts to fillers of carbonated soft drinks, beer, energy drinks, and other beverages.