Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $25.57 Million Stock Holdings in ING Group, N.V. $ING

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) by 66.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 981,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,934,387 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in ING Group were worth $25,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in ING Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership grew its stake in ING Group by 197.2% during the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in ING Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Binnacle Investments Inc increased its holdings in ING Group by 57.0% in the 3rd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of ING Group by 359.9% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. 4.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ING Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:ING opened at $33.25 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $31.45 and a 200-day moving average of $29.42. The company has a market capitalization of $95.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. ING Group, N.V. has a 52-week low of $22.53 and a 52-week high of $33.60.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.03. ING Group had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 27.68%.The company had revenue of $616.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.86 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that ING Group, N.V. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of ING Group in a report on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ING Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

ING Group Company Profile

ING Group N.V. is a Dutch multinational financial services company headquartered in Amsterdam. Formed through the consolidation of Dutch financial businesses, ING operates as a banking and financial services group that serves retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, large corporates and institutional clients. The company is organized under a two-tier governance model common in the Netherlands, with an Executive Board responsible for day-to-day management and a Supervisory Board providing oversight.

ING’s principal activities include retail and direct banking, commercial and wholesale banking, corporate lending, transaction services and cash management, and a range of investment and savings products.