Ally Financial Inc. $ALLY Stock Holdings Lifted by Donald Smith & CO. Inc.

Key Points

• Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its Ally Financial stake by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 2.72 million shares worth about $123.3 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 88.76% of Ally Financial shares; several large investors also increased or initiated positions recently.
• Ally Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly results, earning $1.11 per share versus $0.93 expected, while revenue rose 36.4% year over year to $2.18 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, implying a 2.9% annual yield.

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its position in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,722,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 163,046 shares during the period. Ally Financial comprises approximately 2.3% of Donald Smith & CO. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned approximately 0.88% of Ally Financial worth $123,321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ALLY. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ally Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $157,610,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Ally Financial by 19.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,938,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $467,996,000 after acquiring an additional 1,958,201 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in shares of Ally Financial by 8,255.7% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,230,384 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,231,000 after acquiring an additional 1,215,659 shares in the last quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of Ally Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $45,733,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Ally Financial by 38.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,771,190 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $146,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,056,060 shares in the last quarter. 88.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Stephanie N. Richard sold 5,000 shares of Ally Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.14, for a total value of $210,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 93,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,958,083.78. This trade represents a 5.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Douglas R. Timmerman sold 39,675 shares of Ally Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.17, for a total transaction of $1,792,119.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 477,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,574,411.59. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ALLY. Truist Financial set a $54.00 price target on shares of Ally Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $54.00 price target on shares of Ally Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ally Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ally Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.14.

Ally Financial Price Performance

Shares of ALLY opened at $41.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $12.85 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $42.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. Ally Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.90 and a twelve month high of $47.27.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Ally Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 11.41%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 36.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Ally Financial Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Ally Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.27%.

Ally Financial Profile

Ally Financial Inc is a leading digital financial services company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. The company offers a comprehensive suite of banking, lending, and insurance products designed for retail and commercial customers. Through its online-only platform, Ally Bank provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and home mortgages, emphasizing competitive rates and user-friendly mobile and web experiences.

In addition to its banking operations, Ally Financial is a major player in automotive financing and leasing.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.