Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) Stake Trimmed by Parnassus Investments LLC

Parnassus Investments LLC lowered its position in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,035,348 shares of the company’s stock after selling 641,404 shares during the quarter. Ball accounts for about 2.9% of Parnassus Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Parnassus Investments LLC owned approximately 6.71% of Ball worth $1,360,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BALL. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ball in the third quarter worth $30,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ball in the third quarter worth about $47,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Ball in the second quarter worth about $47,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Ball by 598.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ball by 29.1% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Ball Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BALL opened at $60.86 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.53. Ball Co. has a one year low of $51.65 and a one year high of $71.32. 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 has a market capitalization of $18.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.59, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BALL has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ball from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Ball from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ball from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Ball in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ball from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. One 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.75.

Ball Profile

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.