Royal Bank of Canada Purchases 31,963 Shares of ING Groep (NYSE:ING)

Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of ING Groep (NYSE:ING - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,946,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 31,963 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.11% of ING Groep worth $61,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ING. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in ING Groep by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 32,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 6,427 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of ING Groep by 184.8% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,860 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ING Groep during the fourth quarter worth about $177,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ING Groep by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 44,890 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 6,239 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of ING Groep by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 268,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,211,000 after acquiring an additional 1,754 shares during the period. 4.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on ING shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of ING Groep from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research raised shares of ING Groep 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

ING Groep Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:ING traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.13. 2,678,120 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,279,821. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $73.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87, a PEG ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.15. ING Groep has a 52-week low of $15.09 and a 52-week high of $21.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.60.

ING Groep (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $6.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.74 billion. ING Groep had a net margin of 28.30% and a return on equity of 11.81%. As a group, analysts predict that ING Groep will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

ING Groep Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were given a $0.6526 dividend. This is an increase from ING Groep's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.17. This represents a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. ING Groep's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.45%.

ING Groep 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.