New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Position in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its position in shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY - Free Report) by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 221,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,974 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.07% of Ally Financial worth $7,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ALLY. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH boosted its holdings in Ally Financial by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 17,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 11.4% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 33,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Ally Financial by 0.5% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 108,306 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,890,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ally Financial by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,035 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. 88.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ALLY. Raymond James cut Ally Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ally Financial in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Ally Financial in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. TheStreet raised Ally Financial from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ally Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.47.

Ally Financial Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of ALLY traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.36. 2,607,999 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,915,851. Ally Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.54 and a 1 year high of $41.56. The firm's fifty day moving average is $38.23 and its 200-day moving average is $33.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.39.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.12. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 8.35% and a net margin of 10.59%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ally Financial Inc. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Ally Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. Ally Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.98%.

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.