Bailard Inc. Makes New $253,000 Investment in Quad/Graphics, Inc. (NYSE:QUAD)

Bailard Inc. acquired a new stake in Quad/Graphics, Inc. (NYSE:QUAD) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 36,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of QUAD. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Quad/Graphics by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 669,036 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,038,000 after purchasing an additional 15,220 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Quad/Graphics by 2.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 539,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,447,000 after buying an additional 10,431 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Quad/Graphics by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 293,761 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,048,000 after acquiring an additional 14,275 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Quad/Graphics by 171.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 293,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,046,000 after acquiring an additional 185,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Quad/Graphics by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 250,262 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 17,263 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.52% of the company’s stock.

Quad/Graphics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE QUAD opened at $6.00 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $313.83 million, a PE ratio of -5.50 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $6.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.28. Quad/Graphics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $4.06 and a twelve month high of $9.13.

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

Quad/Graphics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Quad/Graphics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Quad/Graphics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -27.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on QUAD. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Quad/Graphics in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Quad/Graphics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $10.30 price objective on shares of Quad/Graphics in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

Quad/Graphics Company Profile

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.