American Century Companies Inc. Increases Stock Position in ING Group, N.V. $ING

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in ING Group by 2.9%, acquiring an additional 35,382 shares, bringing its total holdings to 1,276,117 shares valued at approximately $24.99 million.
• Recent analyst ratings for ING Group show a mix, with one analyst issuing a Strong Buy rating, two a Buy rating, and three a Hold rating, resulting in an average rating of Moderate Buy.
• ING Group reported earnings of $0.64 per share, exceeding estimates, and recently declared a semi-annual dividend of $0.4002 per share, with a dividend yield of 450.0%.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,276,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 35,382 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in ING Group were worth $24,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of ING Group by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 39,915 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 11,558 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ING Group by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 22,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 4,076 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of ING Group by 197.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 188,448 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,953,000 after acquiring an additional 125,017 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ING Group by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,731 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of ING Group in the 4th quarter worth about $5,577,000. 4.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ING has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays upgraded shares of ING Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of ING Group from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

ING Group Trading Down 0.1%

ING stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $24.01. The company had a trading volume of 368,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,739,676. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $75.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.17 and a 200 day moving average of $20.76. ING Group, N.V. has a 12 month low of $15.09 and a 12 month high of $25.11.

ING Group (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. ING Group had a net margin of 27.28% and a return on equity of 11.62%. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.40 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that ING Group, N.V. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ING Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.4002 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 450.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. ING Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.80%.

ING Group Profile

ING Groep N.V. provides various banking products and services in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, rest of Europe, and internationally. It operates through five segments: Retail Netherlands, Retail Belgium, Retail Germany, Retail Other, and Wholesale Banking. The company accepts current and savings accounts.