Do Hedge Funds and Insiders Love Ball Corporation (BLL)?

Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) was in 25 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. BLL has seen an increase in hedge fund interest of late. There were 15 hedge funds in our database with BLL holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

In the eyes of most stock holders, hedge funds are viewed as worthless, old investment vehicles of years past. While there are over 8000 funds trading at the moment, we at Insider Monkey hone in on the moguls of this club, about 450 funds. It is estimated that this group has its hands on most of the smart money’s total asset base, and by tracking their top investments, we have brought to light a few investment strategies that have historically outstripped Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points annually for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have trumped the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (see all of our picks from August).

Just as key, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the financial markets. As the old adage goes: there are a number of stimuli for a corporate insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if investors know what to do (learn more here).

Consequently, we’re going to take a gander at the recent action regarding Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL).

What does the smart money think about Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 25 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 67% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully.

According to our comprehensive database, Iridian Asset Management, managed by David Cohen and Harold Levy, holds the biggest position in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL). Iridian Asset Management has a $165.6 million position in the stock, comprising 2.4% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is First Eagle Investment Management, managed by Jean-Marie Eveillard, which held a $66.6 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedgies that are bullish include David Harding’s Winton Capital Management, Paul Marshall and Ian Wace’s Marshall Wace LLP and Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management.

As one would reasonably expect, key hedge funds have jumped into Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) headfirst. Marshall Wace LLP, managed by Paul Marshall and Ian Wace, assembled the biggest position in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL). Marshall Wace LLP had 10.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies also initiated a $9 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new BLL investors: SAC Subsidiary’s CR Intrinsic Investors, Charles Davidson’s Wexford Capital, and Israel Englander’s Catapult Capital Management.

Insider trading activity in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL)

Bullish insider trading is best served when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) has experienced 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 10 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL). These stocks are Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE:TUP), Sealed Air Corp (NYSE:SEE), Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK), MeadWestvaco Corp. (NYSE:MWV), and Rock-Tenn Company (NYSE:RKT). This group of stocks are the members of the packaging & containers industry and their market caps are similar to BLL’s market cap.