Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) drops to US$7.5b and insiders who purchased earlier this year lose another US$4.7k
Insiders who acquired US$55k worth of Ally Financial Inc.'s (NYSE:ALLY) stock at an average price of US$27.43 in the past 12 months may be dismayed by the recent 3.8% price decline. Insiders invest with the hopes of seeing their money grow in value over time. However, as a result of recent losses, their initial investment is now only worth US$50k, which is not what they expected.
While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.
Check out our latest analysis for Ally Financial
Ally Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Director Marjorie Magner for US$55k worth of shares, at about US$27.43 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$25.10 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. It is encouraging to see an insider paid above the current price for shares, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. Marjorie Magner was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.
You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Insider Ownership Of Ally Financial
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Ally Financial insiders own about US$39m worth of shares. That equates to 0.5% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
So What Do The Ally Financial Insider Transactions Indicate?
The recent insider purchase is heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Ally Financial we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Ally Financial (1 is potentially serious) you should be aware of.
If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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