ING Group, N.V. $ING Shares Sold by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. significantly reduced its stake in ING Group by 48.2% during the first quarter, now holding only 11,239 shares valued at $220,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Northern Trust Corp and Natixis Advisors LLC, have increased their holdings in ING Group, indicating varying investor sentiment.
• ING Group recently reported a $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, but also announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.4002, resulting in a significant yield.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. decreased its position in ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING - Free Report) by 48.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,437 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in ING Group were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ING. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new stake in ING Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,062,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of ING Group by 25.7% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 4,250,850 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $83,274,000 after acquiring an additional 869,281 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ING Group by 671.8% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 560,313 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,780,000 after acquiring an additional 487,716 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of ING Group by 1,434.0% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 405,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,932,000 after acquiring an additional 378,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of ING Group by 60.0% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 529,731 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,377,000 after acquiring an additional 198,549 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.49% of the company's stock.

ING Group Stock Up 2.7%

NYSE ING traded up $0.66 on Wednesday, hitting $24.76. 4,108,548 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,829,221. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.71 and a 200 day moving average of $21.26. ING Group, N.V. has a twelve month low of $15.09 and a twelve month high of $25.11. The company has a market capitalization of $77.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. ING Group had a return on equity of 11.62% and a net margin of 27.28%.The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.40 billion. As a group, 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 declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.4002 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 450.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. ING Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ING has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upgraded ING Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley upgraded 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 issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

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.