Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Increases Stake in ING Groep (NYSE:ING)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in ING Groep (NYSE:ING) by 147.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 331,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 197,509 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in ING Groep were worth $5,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ING. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in ING Groep by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,381,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,989,000 after buying an additional 74,771 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC raised its position in ING Groep by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 2,771,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,436,000 after acquiring an additional 42,851 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of ING Groep by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,240,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,442,000 after purchasing an additional 55,257 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in ING Groep by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 963,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,095,000 after buying an additional 15,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in ING Groep during the fourth quarter worth $14,375,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.49% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of ING Groep from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Three 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

ING Groep Stock Down 2.7 %

ING opened at $16.89 on Tuesday. ING Groep has a 12 month low of $15.09 and a 12 month high of $20.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $18.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.06. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $59.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.07.

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts expect that ING Groep will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

ING Groep Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.6526 per share. 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 is Friday, April 25th. ING Groep’s payout ratio is 60.75%.

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.