Ally Financial Inc. $ALLY Shares Purchased by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) by 5,026.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 509,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 500,027 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Ally Financial were worth $20,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ALLY. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Ally Financial by 106.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 251,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,158,000 after purchasing an additional 129,497 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Ally Financial by 22.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Ally Financial by 11.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 1,292 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in shares of Ally Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $259,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ally Financial by 374.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Ally Financial from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Ally Financial from $70.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ally Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ally Financial from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stephanie N. Richard sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.14, for a total transaction of $210,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 93,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,958,083.78. This represents a 5.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Douglas R. Timmerman sold 39,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.17, for a total value of $1,792,119.75. Following the sale, the insider owned 477,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,574,411.59. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Ally Financial Trading Up 1.9%

Ally Financial stock opened at $47.21 on Friday. Ally Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.92 and a 12-month high of $47.27. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $14.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.60.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 16.47%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 36.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ally Financial Inc. will post 5.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. Ally Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.27%.

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.