First Pacific Financial Buys 38,983 Shares of ING Group, N.V. $ING

Key Points

• First Pacific Financial increased its stake in ING by 665.4% in Q4, buying 38,983 shares to hold 44,842 shares valued at $1.256 million.
• Analyst sentiment has improved — Deutsche Bank upgraded ING to a Buy, and MarketBeat's consensus is a "Moderate Buy" (2 Strong Buy, 4 Buy, 3 Hold).
• ING announced a dividend of $0.8796 per share payable on May 1, with shareholders of record and the ex-dividend date on April 17.

First Pacific Financial raised its stake in ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING - Free Report) by 665.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 38,983 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial's holdings in ING Group were worth $1,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Abound Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of ING Group by 2,757.6% during the 3rd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 943 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc increased its holdings in ING Group by 57.0% in the 3rd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in ING Group by 2,440.8% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in ING Group in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ING Group during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. 4.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ING. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded ING Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of ING Group from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of ING Group in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of ING Group in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of ING Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

ING Group Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of ING stock opened at $26.56 on Friday. ING Group, N.V. has a 1-year low of $16.47 and a 1-year high of $31.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market cap of $77.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.93 and a 200-day moving average of $26.86.

ING Group (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.67 billion. ING Group had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 27.50%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that ING Group, N.V. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

ING Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be paid a $0.8796 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 589.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. ING Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.87%.

About ING Group

ING Group N.V. is a Dutch multinational financial services company headquartered in Amsterdam. Formed through the consolidation of Dutch financial businesses, ING operates as a banking and financial services group that serves retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, large corporates and institutional clients. The company is organized under a two-tier governance model common in the Netherlands, with an Executive Board responsible for day-to-day management and a Supervisory Board providing oversight.

ING's principal activities include retail and direct banking, commercial and wholesale banking, corporate lending, transaction services and cash management, and a range of investment and savings products.

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