Northern Trust Corp Buys 1,353,054 Shares of ING Groep (NYSE:ING)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in ING Groep (NYSE:ING - Free Report) by 48.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,161,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,353,054 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.12% of ING Groep worth $65,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in ING Groep by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 28,461 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 4,706 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its stake in ING Groep by 170.6% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 107,164 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,679,000 after buying an additional 67,564 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of ING Groep by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 2,567 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of ING Groep by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 27,390 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 5,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Syon Capital LLC raised its position in shares of ING Groep by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 17,901 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 5,538 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on ING shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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 research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

ING Groep Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ING traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $20.73. The company had a trading volume of 582,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,264,072. ING Groep has a 12-month low of $15.09 and a 12-month high of $20.83. The company has a market cap of $72.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.68, a PEG ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

ING Groep (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $6.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.74 billion. ING Groep had a net margin of 28.30% and a return on equity of 11.81%. On average, equities research analysts expect that ING Groep will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ING Groep Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were given a $0.6526 dividend. This represents a yield of 5.1%. This is a boost from ING Groep's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. ING Groep's payout ratio is 64.45%.

About ING Groep

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.