Bessemer Group Inc. Purchases 34,972 Shares of ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING)

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING - Free Report) by 19.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 211,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 34,972 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in ING Group were worth $4,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in ING Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,375,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ING Group by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 92,045 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,442,000 after purchasing an additional 14,476 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in ING Group by 97.4% in the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 51,922 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $814,000 after purchasing an additional 25,624 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in ING Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,946,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,844,000 after purchasing an additional 31,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in ING Group by 697.9% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 22,668 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 19,827 shares in the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ING. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of ING Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of ING Group from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

ING Group Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of ING stock traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.00. The company had a trading volume of 3,090,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,314,551. The company has a market cap of $76.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. ING Group, N.V. has a 12 month low of $15.09 and a 12 month high of $22.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.56.

ING Group (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $6.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.74 billion. ING Group had a net margin of 27.70% and a return on equity of 11.68%. On average, research analysts expect that ING Group, N.V. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About ING Group

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.