Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 1,023 Shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its position in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,988 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,023 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Ball were worth $610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BALL. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Ball in the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ball in the third quarter worth about $47,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Ball by 598.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 999 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ball by 334.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ball by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ball Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:BALL opened at $60.86 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $18.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $64.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.53. Ball Co. has a 52-week low of $51.65 and a 52-week high of $71.32.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Ball had a return on equity of 17.46% and a net margin of 34.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ball Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BALL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ball from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ball from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Ball in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ball from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Ball from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.75.

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.