Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Ally Financial were worth $771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALLY. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ally Financial by 153.9% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 89.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ally Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 218.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Ally Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 88.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ally Financial Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of Ally Financial stock opened at $34.15 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 11.29% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ally Financial Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Ally Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Ally Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Ally Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ally Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.76.

Insider Activity at Ally Financial

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

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.