Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 4,600 Shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,600 shares during the quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Ally Financial were worth $670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALLY. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ally Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $1,112,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Ally Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $21,571,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Ally Financial by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,704,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $380,981,000 after purchasing an additional 51,426 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ally Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $461,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Ally Financial by 184.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 532,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,044,000 after buying an additional 345,210 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.76% of the company’s stock.

Ally Financial Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Ally Financial stock opened at $37.50 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $11.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42, 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.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.21. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 11.29%. The business had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Ally Financial Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Ally Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ALLY shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ally Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Ally Financial from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ally Financial from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Ally Financial from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Ally Financial from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ally Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.53.

Ally Financial Company 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.