ING Group, N.V. $ING Stock: Guardian Partners Inc. Cuts Holdings

Guardian Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) by 3.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 550,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,792 shares during the period. ING Group makes up approximately 1.7% of Guardian Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Guardian Partners Inc.’s holdings in ING Group were worth $19,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of ING Group by 1.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,451,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $168,052,000 after purchasing an additional 61,919 shares during the last quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in ING Group by 954.1% during the first quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 101,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,645,000 after buying an additional 91,896 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in ING Group by 15.4% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 394,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,372,000 after buying an additional 52,524 shares in the last quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management acquired a new position in ING Group during the first quarter worth $817,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in ING Group by 9.1% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 421,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,416,000 after buying an additional 35,218 shares during the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ING Group Price Performance

ING traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $33.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,112,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,809,454. ING Group, N.V. has a fifty-two week low of $23.69 and a fifty-two week high of $37.52. The stock has a market cap of $95.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s 50-day moving average is $35.41 and its 200-day moving average is $32.48.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.99 billion. ING Group had a return on equity of 12.59% and a net margin of 28.15%. Analysts expect that ING Group, N.V. will post 2.78 EPS for the current year.

ING Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.4580 dividend. This is a drop from ING Group’s previous dividend of $0.8796. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 260.0%. ING Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ING has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of ING Group in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ING Group in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of ING Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. DZ Bank reissued a “buy” rating on shares of ING Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of ING Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.50.

About ING Group

ING Groep N.V. is a Netherlands-based international banking group headquartered in Amsterdam. Through its principal banking operations, ING provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions, with a strong emphasis on digital banking and mobile financial services.

The company’s products and services include current and savings accounts, consumer and residential lending, business loans, payments, investment services, and wholesale banking. Its wholesale banking operations serve corporate and institutional clients with services such as lending, transaction banking, financial markets, and corporate finance.