ING Group, N.V. $ING Shares Bought by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in ING Group, N.V. by 4.4% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 181,800 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 4.34 million shares worth $85 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Invesco Ltd and First Trust Advisors LP, have also raised their stakes in ING Group, indicating strong investor interest in the company.
• ING Group recently announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.4002 per share with a payout ratio of 31.80%, despite being rated as "Moderate Buy" by MarketBeat analysts.

Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING - Free Report) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,342,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 181,800 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.12% of ING Group worth $85,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ING. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of ING Group by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 39,915 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 11,558 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its stake in ING Group by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 22,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 4,076 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in ING Group by 197.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 188,448 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,953,000 after buying an additional 125,017 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in ING Group by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,731 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 1,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in ING Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,577,000. 4.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cfra Research raised ING Group from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays raised ING Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

ING Group Stock Performance

ING traded down $0.07 on Friday, reaching $23.85. 3,505,063 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,652,426. The company's 50-day moving average price is $23.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.89. ING Group, N.V. has a fifty-two week low of $15.09 and a fifty-two week high of $25.11. 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 has a market capitalization of $75.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.14.

ING Group (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.40 billion. ING Group had a return on equity of 11.62% and a net margin of 27.28%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ING Group, N.V. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ING Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. ING Group's payout ratio is 31.80%.

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.