Tran Capital Management L.P. Has $43.63 Million Holdings in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

Tran Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 647,646 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,230 shares during the quarter. Ball comprises 4.9% of Tran Capital Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Tran Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Ball were worth $43,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Ball in the first quarter valued at about $7,479,000. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in Ball by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 21,062,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,211,527,000 after buying an additional 998,527 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Ball by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,252,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,020,000 after buying an additional 143,005 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ball during the first quarter worth approximately $1,973,000. Finally, Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. boosted its position in shares of Ball by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 1,128,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,438,000 after acquiring an additional 78,402 shares during the period. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BALL. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ball from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. TheStreet raised shares of Ball from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ball from $59.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ball in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Ball from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.54.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Pedro Henrique Mariani sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.90, for a total transaction of $349,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $688,095.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ball Stock Performance

BALL traded up $0.32 during trading on Thursday, reaching $60.03. 1,097,593 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,404,098. Ball Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.81 and a fifty-two week high of $71.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.32. The company has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.52, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.85.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.12. Ball had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 21.79%. The company had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Ball Co. will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.02%.

Ball declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.