Blue Trust Inc. Sells 3,283 Shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY)

Blue Trust Inc. cut its stake in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) by 70.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,283 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Ally Financial were worth $49,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Ally Financial by 233.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,430,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,701,264 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Ally Financial by 217.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,283,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563,008 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Ally Financial by 584.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,395,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191,529 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Ally Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $21,571,000. Finally, 140 Summer Partners LP bought a new stake in Ally Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,140,000. 88.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ally Financial Stock Up 0.1 %

ALLY opened at $38.29 on Monday. Ally Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.95 and a 1-year high of $45.46. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market cap of $11.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.45.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 11.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ally Financial Inc. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Ally Financial’s payout ratio is 46.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Russell E. Hutchinson purchased 19,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $753,495.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 202,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,002,235.25. This trade represents a 10.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael George Rhodes purchased 25,634 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $39.09 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,033.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,002,033.06. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ALLY. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Ally Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Ally Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on Ally Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ally Financial from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ally Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ally Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.76.

Ally Financial Company Profile

Ally Financial Inc, a digital financial-services company, provides various digital financial products and services in the United States, Canada, and Bermuda. The company operates through Automotive Finance Operations, Insurance Operations, Mortgage Finance Operations, and Corporate Finance Operations segments.