First Merchants Corp increased its stake in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) by 92.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 30,290 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Ball Corporation were worth $2,666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLL. Pinnacle Bank bought a new position in Ball Corporation during the first quarter valued at about $126,000. First Personal Financial Services raised its stake in shares of Ball Corporation by 17.1% in the first quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 1,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ball Corporation during the first quarter worth $201,000. Advisor Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ball Corporation during the first quarter worth $201,000. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its position in Ball Corporation by 3.3% in the first quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.59% of the company’s stock.
Shares of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) traded up 0.27% during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.16. The company had a trading volume of 1,659,275 shares. Ball Corporation has a 12-month low of $35.65 and a 12-month high of $43.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $41.94 and its 200-day moving average is $39.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.10 billion, a PE ratio of 56.96 and a beta of 0.95.
Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. Ball Corporation had a return on equity of 17.54% and a net margin of 1.70%. The firm’s revenue was up 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ball Corporation will post $2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Ball Corporation’s payout ratio is currently 78.43%.
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BLL has been the topic of several recent research reports. TheStreet upgraded Ball Corporation from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Thursday, May 4th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Ball Corporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 4th. BidaskClub upgraded Ball Corporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. Jefferies Group LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Ball Corporation in a report on Sunday, June 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG restated a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 target price (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Ball Corporation in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Ball Corporation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.05.
In other news, Chairman John A. Hayes sold 5,622 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.10, for a total value of $231,064.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 412,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,958,805.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director R David Hoover sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.75, for a total value of $874,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 205,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,159,085. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 117,654 shares of company stock worth $4,839,833. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.
Ball Corporation Company Profile
Ball Corporation is a supplier of metal packaging to the beverage, food, personal care and household products industries. The Company’s packaging products are produced for a range of end uses and are manufactured in facilities around the world. Its segments include beverage packaging, North and Central America; beverage packaging, South America; beverage packaging, Europe; food and aerosol packaging; aerospace, and other.
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