HighTower Advisors LLC Makes New $847,000 Investment in Quad/Graphics, Inc. (NYSE:QUAD)

HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quad/Graphics, Inc. (NYSE:QUAD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 121,461 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $847,000. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Quad/Graphics at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Quad/Graphics by 171.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 293,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,046,000 after acquiring an additional 185,344 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quad/Graphics during the 4th quarter worth about $1,150,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Quad/Graphics by 96.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 85,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 41,786 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Quad/Graphics by 450.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 47,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 38,588 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. bought a new stake in Quad/Graphics in the fourth quarter worth about $253,000. Institutional investors own 39.52% of the company’s stock.

Quad/Graphics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:QUAD opened at $5.50 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.35, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.85. Quad/Graphics, Inc. has a one year low of $4.06 and a one year high of $9.13. The firm has a market cap of $287.65 million, a PE ratio of -5.04 and a beta of 1.76.

Quad/Graphics (NYSE:QUAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $708.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $726.70 million. Quad/Graphics had a positive return on equity of 58.44% and a negative net margin of 1.90%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quad/Graphics, Inc. will post 1.08 EPS for the current year.

Quad/Graphics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Quad/Graphics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.46%. Quad/Graphics’s dividend payout ratio is -27.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on QUAD. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of Quad/Graphics in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised Quad/Graphics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $10.30 target price on shares of Quad/Graphics in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

About Quad/Graphics

Quad/Graphics, Inc provides marketing solutions worldwide. The company operates through United States Print and Related Services, and International segments. It offers printing services, such as retail inserts, publications, catalogs, special interest publications, journals, direct mail, directories, in-store marketing and promotion, packaging, newspapers, custom print products, and other commercial and specialty printed products; and paper procurement services.