Phoenix Financial Ltd. Lowers Stake in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY)

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. reduced its stake in Ally Financial Inc. by 5.3%, owning 3,210,003 shares valued at approximately $117.07 million, which constitutes 1.8% of its total holdings.
• Insider Stephanie N. Richard sold 8,000 shares of Ally Financial at $32.14 each, decreasing her ownership by 8.13% and retaining about 90,387 shares valued at approximately $2.90 million.
• Recent analyst ratings show a mixed outlook for Ally Financial, with Goldman Sachs raising its price target to $50, while Wells Fargo lowered its target from $34 to $32.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,210,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 180,063 shares during the period. Ally Financial makes up approximately 1.8% of Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Phoenix Financial Ltd. owned 1.05% of Ally Financial worth $117,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Ally Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Ally Financial by 125.7% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 914 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 59.6% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,010 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ally Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. 88.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ally Financial from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ally Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ally Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. BTIG Research upgraded Ally Financial from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $59.00 price target (up previously from $55.00) on shares of Ally Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ally Financial news, insider Stephanie N. Richard sold 8,000 shares of Ally Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.14, for a total value of $257,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 90,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,905,038.18. The trade was a 8.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ally Financial Price Performance

NYSE:ALLY traded down $0.27 on Tuesday, reaching $38.55. 634,694 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,046,504. The firm has a market cap of $11.84 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.26. 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 12 month low of $29.52 and a 12 month high of $45.46.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 7.64%. The firm's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ally Financial Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Ally Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Ally Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.92%.

Ally Financial Company Profile

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.