Econ Financial Services Corp Increases Position in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY)

Econ Financial Services Corp raised its holdings in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY - Free Report) by 174.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,682 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 37,941 shares during the quarter. Ally Financial comprises approximately 1.2% of Econ Financial Services Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Econ Financial Services Corp's holdings in Ally Financial were worth $2,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Ally Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,279 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ally Financial by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,367 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in Ally Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 15,332 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 5.6% during the first quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 6,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 6,455 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. 88.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ally Financial Price Performance

ALLY stock traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $38.93. 4,133,130 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,785,209. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $35.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.68. The company has a market cap of $11.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.63, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.14. Ally Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $29.52 and a 52-week high of $45.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Ally Financial had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 9.53%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Ally Financial Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Ally Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 88.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ALLY shares. Bank of America dropped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $45.00 to $39.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. For consumer lenders, the Trump Administration’s hardline approach to tariffs is “difficult to ignore” and there’s clearly more downside to the group if tariffs remain near current levels. If tariffs remain in place, risks to growth would skew meaningfully to the downside and risks to inflation to the upside, adds the analyst, who is downgrading the firm’s Consumer Finance industry view to Cautious from Attractive. BTIG Research lowered shares of Ally Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Ally Financial in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $41.88.

Insider Activity

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

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.