ING Groep (NYSE:ING) Shares Sold by Qtron Investments LLC

Qtron Investments LLC reduced its stake in ING Groep (NYSE:ING) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,218 shares during the period. Qtron Investments LLC’s holdings in ING Groep were worth $1,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ING. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ING Groep in the 4th quarter valued at $14,375,000. Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new position in ING Groep in the fourth quarter valued at $11,730,000. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in shares of ING Groep during the fourth quarter worth about $10,129,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of ING Groep by 147.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 331,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,190,000 after purchasing an additional 197,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of ING Groep by 88.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 290,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,557,000 after purchasing an additional 136,342 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.49% of the company’s stock.

ING Groep Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ING opened at $18.24 on Friday. ING Groep has a one year low of $15.09 and a one year high of $20.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.52, a PEG ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.04. 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 (NYSE:ING) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.02). ING Groep had a net margin of 28.30% and a return on equity of 11.81%. On average, analysts predict that ING Groep will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

ING Groep Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.6526 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is currently 60.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.