Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 54,709 Shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY)

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) by 63.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,709 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Ally Financial were worth $5,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ALLY. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Ally Financial by 89.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ally Financial during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Ally Financial by 218.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Ally Financial by 38.5% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ally Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $78,000. 88.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ALLY. StockNews.com cut Ally Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Ally Financial from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Ally Financial from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Ally Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Compass Point upgraded shares of Ally Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Russell E. Hutchinson acquired 19,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.45 per share, with a total value of $753,495.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 202,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,002,235.25. This trade represents a 10.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael George Rhodes bought 25,634 shares of Ally Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.09 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,033.06. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,002,033.06. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Ally Financial Price Performance

Shares of ALLY stock opened at $31.76 on Friday. Ally Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.52 and a 52 week high of $45.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.22, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $35.75 and its 200-day moving average is $36.29.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.21. Ally Financial had a net margin of 11.29% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ally Financial Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Ally Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.15%.

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.