Marshall Wace LLP Acquires New Holdings in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY)

Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 532,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $19,178,000. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.17% of Ally Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Ally Financial by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 50,924 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,834,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 89.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ally Financial by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,409 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,142 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. 88.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Russell E. Hutchinson acquired 8,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.81 per share, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 236,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,284,131.01. This trade represents a 3.59 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael George Rhodes bought 25,634 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $39.09 per share, with a total value of $1,002,033.06. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 25,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,002,033.06. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Ally Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALLY traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $33.20. The stock had a trading volume of 759,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,341,474. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.12. Ally Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.52 and a 1 year high of $45.46.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.15. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 11.29%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ally Financial Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. Ally Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Ally Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $43.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. BTIG Research downgraded Ally Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Ally Financial in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Ally Financial from $45.00 to $39.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report 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. Two investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ally Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.69.

Ally Financial 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.