Blue Trust Inc. Grows Holdings in ING Groep (NYSE:ING)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of ING Groep (NYSE:ING) by 54.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,617 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in ING Groep were worth $516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Square Asset Management LLC grew its stake in ING Groep by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Square Asset Management LLC now owns 128,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,012,000 after acquiring an additional 3,408 shares during the period. Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ING Groep in the fourth quarter valued at $169,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in ING Groep by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 268,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,754 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 6,239 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ING Groep by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 77,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,207,000 after buying an additional 2,868 shares during the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of ING Groep from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of ING Groep from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup upgraded ING Groep to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays cut ING Groep from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

ING Groep Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE ING opened at $16.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. ING Groep has a one year low of $12.77 and a one year high of $18.72. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $15.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.53, a PEG ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 1.47.

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter. ING Groep had a net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that ING Groep will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

ING Groep Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th were given a $0.1667 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 13th. ING Groep’s payout ratio is 29.15%.

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.