London Co. of Virginia Cuts Stake in Ally Financial Inc. $ALLY

Key Points

• London Co. of Virginia trimmed its stake in Ally Financial by 4.7%, selling 225,569 shares and leaving it with 4,604,583 shares (about 1.49% of the company) valued at roughly $180.5 million.
• Insider buying: CEO Michael George Rhodes bought 23,800 shares and CFO Russell E. Hutchinson bought 11,566 shares, raising their holdings and contributing to insider ownership of 0.56%.
• Ally beat Q4 EPS ($1.09 vs. $1.01), announced a $2.0 billion buyback (up to 15.3% of shares) and pays a $0.30 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~3.3%).

London Co. of Virginia lowered its holdings in shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,604,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 225,569 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia owned about 1.49% of Ally Financial worth $180,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALLY. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 19.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,938,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $467,996,000 after buying an additional 1,958,201 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 4.2% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,626,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $220,569,000 after buying an additional 226,188 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 38.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,771,190 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $146,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,056,060 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ally Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $95,897,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ally Financial by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,384,980 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,895,000 after acquiring an additional 72,444 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ally Financial

In related news, CEO Michael George Rhodes purchased 23,800 shares of Ally Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $41.68 per share, for a total transaction of $991,984.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,060,409.12. This represents a 92.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Russell E. Hutchinson purchased 11,566 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $43.17 per share, with a total value of $499,304.22. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 225,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,727,755.12. This represents a 5.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ally Financial Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE ALLY opened at $35.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 1.19. Ally Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.52 and a fifty-two week high of $47.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 10.77%.The business's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Ally Financial Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Ally Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 15.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Ally Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. Ally Financial's payout ratio is presently 51.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALLY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore reduced their price target on Ally Financial from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Ally Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $53.00 target price on shares of Ally Financial and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ally Financial from a "hold" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.31.

Ally Financial Company 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.

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