Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Cuts Position in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,664 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ally Financial were worth $5,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ally Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $75,483,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Ally Financial by 233.4% during the fourth 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. boosted its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 217.0% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,283,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $81,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563,008 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 2,956,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Ally Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $21,571,000. 88.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Russell E. Hutchinson purchased 19,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $753,495.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 202,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,002,235.25. This trade represents a 10.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael George Rhodes acquired 25,634 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.09 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,033.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 25,634 shares in the company, valued at $1,002,033.06. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on ALLY shares. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Ally Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Ally Financial from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Ally Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ally Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.65.

Ally Financial Stock Performance

NYSE ALLY opened at $36.64 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $37.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.43. The company has a market capitalization of $11.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.40. Ally Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.95 and a 1 year high of $45.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $2.09 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ally Financial Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Ally Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Ally Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.15%.

About Ally Financial

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.