Ascent Group LLC Buys Shares of 10,683 ING Group, N.V. $ING

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC has acquired a new position in ING Group, purchasing 10,683 shares valued at approximately $209,000 during the first quarter.
• A series of institutional investors, including SBI Securities Co. Ltd. and MAI Capital Management, have also made significant increases in their stakes in ING Group in the same quarter.
• ING Group has received upgrades from major firms like Barclays and Morgan Stanley, signaling a bullish outlook with several analysts rating the stock as a "Moderate Buy."

Ascent Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ING. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of ING Group by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 132,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,079,000 after purchasing an additional 10,471 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in ING Group by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 42,832 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $673,000 after acquiring an additional 2,516 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ING Group by 671.8% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 560,313 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,780,000 after purchasing an additional 487,716 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ING Group by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 554,854 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,695,000 after buying an additional 32,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in ING Group by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 394,878 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,188,000 after buying an additional 84,613 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.49% of the company's stock.

ING Group Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of ING Group stock traded down $0.07 on Thursday, hitting $25.28. 898,846 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,760,057. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.10. ING Group, N.V. has a one year low of $15.09 and a one year high of $25.81. 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $23.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.53.

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

ING Group Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ING has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upgraded ING Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley upgraded ING Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ING Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

ING Group Company 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.