Employees Retirement System of Texas Purchases 262,563 Shares of Ally Financial Inc. $ALLY

Employees Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) by 18.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,696,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 262,563 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.55% of Ally Financial worth $66,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Ally Financial by 385.2% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Ally Financial in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. MAI Capital Management raised its position in shares of Ally Financial by 45.1% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 98.7% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Ally Financial by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. 88.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ally Financial

In related news, CFO Russell E. Hutchinson purchased 11,566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $43.17 per share, for a total transaction of $499,304.22. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 225,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,727,755.12. This trade represents a 5.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael George Rhodes acquired 23,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $41.68 per share, with a total value of $991,984.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 49,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,060,409.12. The trade was a 92.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ally Financial Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:ALLY opened at $36.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. Ally Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $29.52 and a 52-week high of $47.27. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.63. The firm has a market cap of $11.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.18.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.08. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 10.77%.The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ally Financial Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 15.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Ally Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. Ally Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALLY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ally Financial from a “hold” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Evercore lowered their price objective on Ally Financial from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered Ally Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ally Financial from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ally Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ally Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.31.

Ally Financial 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.