Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Sells 75,923 Shares of Ball Corporation $BALL

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lowered its holdings in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) by 67.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,119 shares of the company’s stock after selling 75,923 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Ball were worth $1,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ball in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Ball in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Ball in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in shares of Ball by 297.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of Ball in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BALL has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Ball from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ball from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 target price on shares of Ball in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Ball from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Ball from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ball has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Fauze Villatoro purchased 1,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.51 per share, with a total value of $100,055.01. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president directly owned 13,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $888,818.78. This represents a 12.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathleen Pitre sold 10,660 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total transaction of $710,275.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 36,772 shares in the company, valued at $2,450,118.36. The trade was a 22.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Ball Stock Performance

Ball stock opened at $56.57 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.06. Ball Corporation has a 1-year low of $44.83 and a 1-year high of $68.29.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Ball had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 18.69%. Ball’s revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. Ball has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.930- EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ball Corporation will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is 23.12%.

Ball Company Profile

Ball Corporation is a leading provider of sustainable aluminum packaging solutions and advanced aerospace technologies. Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, the company serves customers in the beverage, food and aerosol markets through a global network of manufacturing facilities. With an emphasis on sustainability and innovation, Ball designs and produces metal cans, bottles and ends that support recycling and reduce environmental impact.

The company’s packaging segment specializes in beverage cans for soft drinks, beer and energy drinks, as well as metal packaging for food and personal care applications.