Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Purchases 20,499 Shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY)

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,536,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,499 shares during the quarter. Ally Financial comprises 2.2% of Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s holdings in Ally Financial were worth $91,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Ally Financial by 8.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 16,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $587,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 59.5% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 84,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after buying an additional 31,395 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Ally Financial by 29.9% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 53,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 12,229 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Ally Financial by 71.4% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 25,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $923,000 after buying an additional 10,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Ally Financial in the third quarter valued at about $124,000. Institutional investors own 88.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research downgraded Ally Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ally Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ally Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ally Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.65.

Ally Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALLY opened at $37.07 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $11.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.40. Ally Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.95 and a 1-year high of $45.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $37.00 and its 200 day moving average is $36.43. 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 (NYSE:ALLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Ally Financial had a net margin of 11.29% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ally Financial Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Ally Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.15%.

Insider Activity at Ally Financial

In related news, CEO Michael George Rhodes purchased 25,634 shares of Ally Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.09 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,033.06. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 25,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,002,033.06. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Russell E. Hutchinson purchased 19,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.45 per share, with a total value of $753,495.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 202,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,002,235.25. The trade was a 10.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.