Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Acquires 65,972 Shares of ING Groep (NYSE:ING)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in ING Groep (NYSE:ING - Free Report) by 253.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 92,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 65,972 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in ING Groep were worth $1,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ING. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of ING Groep in the 4th quarter worth $14,375,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of ING Groep by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 358,479 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,510,000 after buying an additional 4,542 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ING Groep by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 92,045 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,442,000 after buying an additional 14,476 shares during the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of ING Groep during the fourth quarter worth about $10,129,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in shares of ING Groep by 97.4% in the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 51,922 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $814,000 after acquiring an additional 25,624 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded ING Groep from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

ING Groep Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:ING traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $19.62. 510,093 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,284,989. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company has a market cap of $68.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17, a PEG ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $18.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.13. ING Groep has a one year low of $15.09 and a one year high of $20.79.

ING Groep (NYSE:ING - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.02). ING Groep had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 28.30%. Equities analysts predict that ING Groep will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

ING Groep Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a $0.6526 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This is a positive change from ING Groep's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.17. This represents a dividend yield of 5.1%. ING Groep's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.75%.

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.