Ulysses Management LLC Has $31.70 Million Stake in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

Ulysses Management LLC increased its holdings in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 575,000 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 75,000 shares during the period. Ball accounts for 5.1% of Ulysses Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Ulysses Management LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Ball worth $31,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Ball by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 10,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in shares of Ball by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ball by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 26,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,474,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Ball by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 9,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ball by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ball Price Performance

BALL stock opened at $54.34 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $50.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.80. Ball Co. has a 12-month low of $43.51 and a 12-month high of $70.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.29, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.07. Ball had a net margin of 33.98% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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 analysts predict that Ball Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Ball declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 24.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Ball Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BALL shares. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Ball from $65.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ball from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ball from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ball from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.