HighTower Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING)

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) by 16.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 809,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 154,214 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in ING Group were worth $15,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ING Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 154,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,028,000 after buying an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in ING Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,636,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in ING Group during the 1st quarter valued at $1,091,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ING Group by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 29,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 3,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of ING Group by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 209,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,109,000 after purchasing an additional 37,704 shares in the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ING Group Price Performance

Shares of ING opened at $24.87 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.35. The firm has a market cap of $78.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. ING Group, N.V. has a 1-year low of $15.09 and a 1-year high of $25.11.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.40 billion. ING Group had a return on equity of 11.62% and a net margin of 27.28%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ING Group, N.V. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

ING Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.4002 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 450.0%. ING Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ING. Barclays raised ING Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Cfra Research raised shares of ING Group from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

ING Group 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.