Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Sells 290,901 Shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY)

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. decreased its position in shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY - Free Report) by 73.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 290,901 shares during the quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.'s holdings in Ally Financial were worth $3,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ALLY. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Ally Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,112,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ally Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $461,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Ally Financial by 184.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 532,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,044,000 after purchasing an additional 345,210 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in Ally Financial by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 189,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,829,000 after purchasing an additional 19,785 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in Ally Financial by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 147,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,327,000 after purchasing an additional 20,569 shares in the last quarter. 88.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ally Financial

In other Ally Financial news, CFO Russell E. Hutchinson acquired 8,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $30.81 per share, with a total value of $252,642.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 236,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,284,131.01. This represents a 3.59 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephanie N. Richard sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.14, for a total value of $257,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 90,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,905,038.18. The trade was a 8.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ally Financial Trading Up 2.4 %

ALLY stock traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $34.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,178,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,536,834. The firm has a market cap of $10.54 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.14. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.52 and a 12-month high of $45.46. The company's 50-day moving average price is $33.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.92.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Ally Financial had a net margin of 11.29% and a return on equity of 9.31%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ally Financial Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. Ally Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 88.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALLY has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Ally Financial in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Ally Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ally Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $41.69.

Ally Financial 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.