Millennium Management LLC Purchases 1,106,926 Shares of ING Group, N.V. $ING

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in ING Group, N.V. by 197.6%, owning 1,667,239 shares valued at approximately $32.66 million after purchasing over 1.1 million additional shares in the first quarter.
• Despite a recent dividend announcement, ING Group's stock has a current payout ratio of 31.80% and a dividend yield of 450.0% after paying $0.4002 per share.
• Brokerages like Morgan Stanley and Barclays have upgraded ING Group's rating to "overweight", indicating positive outlook from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING - Free Report) by 197.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,667,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,106,926 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC's holdings in ING Group were worth $32,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ING. Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ING Group during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in ING Group by 135.3% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,586 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ING Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ING Group during the first quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, MAI Capital Management grew its stake in shares of ING Group by 23.1% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 4,190 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

ING Group Price Performance

ING Group stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $25.37. 1,795,967 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,800,041. ING Group, N.V. has a 12 month low of $15.09 and a 12 month high of $25.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The business's 50-day moving average is $23.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.10.

ING Group (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The business 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%. Equities research analysts expect that ING Group, N.V. will post 2.14 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.4002 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 450.0%. ING Group's payout ratio is presently 31.34%.

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.