Argent Trust Co Purchases Shares of 12,154 Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY)

Key Points

• Argent Trust Co has acquired a new position in Ally Financial, purchasing 12,154 shares valued at approximately $443,000 in the first quarter.
• Ally Financial has seen significant activity from institutional investors, with 88.76% of its stock owned by such investors, highlighting strong interest in the company.
• Despite earning exceeding expectations, recent ratings from analysts show a mixed outlook, with target prices ranging from $32.00 to $59.00.

Argent Trust Co bought a new position in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 12,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $443,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new position in Ally Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Ally Financial by 125.7% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 914 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ally Financial by 59.6% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,010 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Ally Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $78,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Ally Financial by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.76% of the company's stock.

Ally Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALLY traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $37.47. 1,811,959 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,360,361. The company has a market capitalization of $11.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.16. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $38.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Ally Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $29.52 and a 52-week high of $43.86.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Ally Financial had a net margin of 7.64% and a return on equity of 9.48%. The business's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ally Financial Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Ally Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ally Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ally Financial in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.80.

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.