Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 35,911 Shares of Ball Corporation $BALL

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its holdings in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) by 31.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 78,090 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,911 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Ball were worth $4,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Ball by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, 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. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Ball

Here are the key news stories impacting Ball this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its FY2027 EPS estimate for Ball to $4.53 from $4.51, suggesting slightly better expected profitability over the next couple of years.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research increased its FY2028 EPS estimate to $5.06 from $5.02 and also lifted its Q1 2028 estimate to $1.28 from $1.26, indicating stronger long-term earnings expectations.
• Neutral Sentiment: Ball said it will present at Wells Fargo’s 16th Annual Industrials & Materials Conference on June 10, 2026, which keeps the company in front of institutional investors but does not by itself change fundamentals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research trimmed its Q4 2026 EPS estimate slightly to $0.99 from $1.00, a small cut that may temper enthusiasm around near-term earnings.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ball from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Raymond James Financial set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Ball and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Ball from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ball from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.54.

Insider Activity at Ball

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. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ball Stock Performance

NYSE BALL opened at $54.53 on Monday. Ball Corporation has a 1 year low of $44.83 and a 1 year high of $68.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.53.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.09. Ball had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 18.69%. The business had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Ball has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.930- EPS. Analysts predict that Ball Corporation will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.12%.

Ball 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.