17,896 Shares in Ally Financial Inc. $ALLY Acquired by WealthTrust Asset Management LLC

WealthTrust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 17,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $811,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ally Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Ally Financial by 67.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Ally Financial by 98.7% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Ally Financial by 53.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ally Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group set a $48.00 price target on Ally Financial in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ally Financial from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Ally Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Ally Financial from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ally Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.14.

Ally Financial Price Performance

Shares of ALLY stock opened at $44.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $13.54 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.77. Ally Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $47.27.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Ally Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 11.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. Analysts predict that Ally Financial Inc. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. Ally Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ally Financial news, insider Douglas R. Timmerman sold 39,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.17, for a total transaction of $1,792,119.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 477,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,574,411.59. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Ally Financial Company 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.