Norges Bank Takes Position in Ally Financial Inc. $ALLY

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new stake in Ally Financial, buying 3.48 million shares valued at about $157.6 million and representing roughly 1.13% of the company.
• Ally Financial’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $1.11 versus the $0.93 consensus and revenue of $2.18 billion, up 36.4% from a year earlier.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock: Ally has a Moderate Buy rating overall, with an average price target of $54.14, while the shares recently traded around $41.01.

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,480,024 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $157,610,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.13% of Ally Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ally Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new stake in Ally Financial in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in Ally Financial by 43.9% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 904 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Ally Financial by 67.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ally Financial by 98.7% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the period. 88.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALLY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ally Financial from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ally Financial from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of Ally Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America increased their target price on Ally Financial from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Ally Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.14.

Ally Financial Price Performance

Shares of ALLY opened at $41.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.10. 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 one year low of $34.74 and a one year high of $47.27. The stock's fifty day moving average is $42.25 and its 200-day moving average is $42.09.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 16.47%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 36.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ally Financial Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Ally Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.

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