Aristeia Capital L.L.C. Invests $684,000 in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Aristeia Capital L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 30,269 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $684,000. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. owned approximately 0.07% of Deluxe as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DLX. AXA S.A. grew its stake in shares of Deluxe by 50.2% during the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 136,493 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,083,000 after purchasing an additional 45,645 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its stake in Deluxe by 70.5% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 31,496 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $711,000 after acquiring an additional 13,019 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Deluxe by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 503,321 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $11,370,000 after buying an additional 34,659 shares during the period. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC acquired a new position in Deluxe during the fourth quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Deluxe by 142.3% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 36,224 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $818,000 after buying an additional 21,275 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deluxe Stock Up 3.5 %

NYSE DLX traded up $0.53 during trading on Thursday, hitting $15.85. 156,093 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 289,074. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Deluxe Co. has a 12 month low of $13.70 and a 12 month high of $24.87. The company has a market capitalization of $708.76 million, a P/E ratio of 13.43, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.49.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $536.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $525.43 million. Deluxe had a return on equity of 21.33% and a net margin of 2.49%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Deluxe's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on DLX shares. StockNews.com lowered Deluxe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Sidoti raised Deluxe to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Securities dropped their price target on Deluxe from $33.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 3,926 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.45 per share, with a total value of $64,582.70. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at $4,488,398.95. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Deluxe Company Profile

Deluxe Corporation provides technology-enabled solutions to enterprises, small businesses, and financial institutions in the United States, Canada, and Australia. It operates through Merchant Services, B2B Payments, Data Solutions, and Print segments. The Merchant Services offers credit and debit card authorization and payment systems, as well as processing services primarily to small and medium-sized retail and service businesses.