Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Raises Stake in ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) by 20.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,036 shares during the quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in ING Group were worth $345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ING Group in the 4th quarter worth about $14,375,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ING Group by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 92,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,442,000 after buying an additional 14,476 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of ING Group by 97.4% in the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 51,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $814,000 after buying an additional 25,624 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in ING Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,946,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,844,000 after purchasing an additional 31,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in ING Group by 697.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 22,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 19,827 shares during the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ING. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of ING Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research raised shares of ING Group from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

ING Group Price Performance

NYSE ING opened at $20.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $72.67 billion, a PE ratio of 9.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. ING Group, N.V. has a 52 week low of $15.09 and a 52 week high of $21.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.32.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.07). ING Group had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 27.70%. The firm had revenue of $6.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.74 billion. Research analysts predict that ING Group, N.V. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

ING Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were issued a $0.6526 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 5.1%. This is an increase from ING Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. ING Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.45%.

About ING Group

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.