Northern Trust Corp Boosts Position in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY - Free Report) by 28.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,941,459 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 863,052 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.29% of Ally Financial worth $141,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 89.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ally Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 218.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,546 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,142 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ally Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $78,000. Institutional investors own 88.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ally Financial

In related news, CFO Russell E. Hutchinson purchased 8,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $30.81 per share, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 236,421 shares in the company, 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 through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephanie N. Richard sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.14, for a total transaction of $257,120.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 90,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,905,038.18. This trade represents a 8.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Ally Financial Price Performance

Shares of Ally Financial stock traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $33.53. The company had a trading volume of 558,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,209,985. The company has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. 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 released its 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. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 11.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ally Financial Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Ally Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 88.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ALLY. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America cut their target price on Ally Financial from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Ally Financial in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $43.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Ally Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ally Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.69.

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.