Ballentine Partners LLC Purchases 18,959 Shares of ING Group, N.V. $ING

Key Points

• Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in ING Group by 39.1% in Q2, acquiring an additional 18,959 shares, bringing its total ownership to 67,504 shares worth approximately $1.48 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Millennium Management LLC and Natixis Advisors LLC, also significantly boosted their stakes in ING Group during the first quarter, reflecting strong interest in the stock.
• ING Group recently announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.4002 per share, yielding 450.0%, although its dividend payout ratio stands at 31.80%.

Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING - Free Report) by 39.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,959 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC's holdings in ING Group were worth $1,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ING. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new position in shares of ING Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,062,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in ING Group by 197.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,667,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,661,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,926 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in ING Group by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 4,250,850 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,274,000 after acquiring an additional 869,281 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in ING Group by 1,434.0% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,932,000 after acquiring an additional 378,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC purchased a new stake in ING Group in the first quarter worth $6,833,000. Institutional investors own 4.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of ING Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Barclays upgraded shares of ING Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ING Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

ING Group Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of ING Group stock opened at $25.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. ING Group, N.V. has a 1 year low of $15.09 and a 1 year high of $25.92. The firm's 50-day moving average is $24.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.78. The stock has a market cap of $80.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10.

ING Group (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.40 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that ING Group, N.V. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ING Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.4002 per share. This represents a yield of 450.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. ING Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ING? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.