ING Groep (NYSE:ING) Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of ING Groep (NYSE:ING) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,240,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,257 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in ING Groep were worth $19,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ING. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in ING Groep in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,375,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of ING Groep by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 358,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,510,000 after purchasing an additional 4,542 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 14,476 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of ING Groep during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,129,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in 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 valued at $814,000 after buying an additional 25,624 shares in the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ING Groep Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ING opened at $19.83 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $69.35 billion, a PE ratio of 9.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.09 and a 200-day moving average of $17.05. ING Groep has a one year low of $15.09 and a one year high of $20.79.

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.02). ING Groep had a net margin of 28.30% and a return on equity of 11.81%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ING Groep will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ING Groep Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of ING Groep from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ING Groep has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

ING Groep Company 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.