Franklin Resources Inc. Has $4.56 Million Position in ING Groep (NYSE:ING)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in ING Groep (NYSE:ING) by 88.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 290,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 136,342 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in ING Groep were worth $4,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of ING Groep during the 4th quarter worth about $14,375,000. Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new position in ING Groep in the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,730,000. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in ING Groep in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,129,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of ING Groep during the third quarter valued at approximately $9,924,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ING Groep in the 4th quarter worth $2,054,000. 4.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

ING Groep Price Performance

ING stock opened at $17.43 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.04. The company has a market capitalization of $60.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.07. ING Groep has a 52-week low of $15.09 and a 52-week high of $20.79.

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

ING Groep Increases Dividend

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

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.