First Trust Advisors LP Has $2.95 Million Holdings in ING Groep (NYSE:ING)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of ING Groep (NYSE:ING - Free Report) by 197.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 188,448 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 125,017 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in ING Groep were worth $2,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of ING Groep by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 47,283 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $741,000 after purchasing an additional 4,467 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in ING Groep by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 180,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,821,000 after buying an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of ING Groep by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 109,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,711,000 after buying an additional 12,405 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of ING Groep by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 22,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 4,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Causeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ING Groep by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 1,491,567 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $23,373,000 after acquiring an additional 416,762 shares during the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of ING Groep from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Three 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

ING Groep Stock Performance

NYSE ING traded down $0.24 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $20.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,951,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,276,475. ING Groep has a 52 week low of $15.09 and a 52 week high of $20.79. The firm has a market cap of $70.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

ING Groep (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.07). The company 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that ING Groep will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ING Groep Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.6526 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This is an increase from ING Groep's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.17. ING Groep's payout ratio is currently 61.61%.

ING Groep 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.