Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Decreases Stock Holdings in Ball Corporation $BALL

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lowered its stake in shares of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) by 24.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,504 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,628 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Ball were worth $2,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ball in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Ball in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Ball in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in 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 purchased a new stake in Ball in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BALL. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Ball from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ball in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Ball and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Ball from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ball from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Ten research 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ball news, SVP Fauze Villatoro bought 1,551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $64.51 per share, with a total value of $100,055.01. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president owned 13,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $888,818.78. This trade represents a 12.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 36,772 shares in the company, valued at $2,450,118.36. This trade represents a 22.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ball Trading Down 1.2%

BALL opened at $55.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $60.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Ball Corporation has a 12-month low of $44.83 and a 12-month high of $68.29.

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

Ball Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 1.5%. 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.