AQR Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

AQR Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 247,474 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 17,933 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.56% of Deluxe worth $5,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DLX. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Deluxe by 73.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 148,447 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,893,000 after acquiring an additional 62,715 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Deluxe during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Deluxe by 91.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 130,273 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,539,000 after buying an additional 62,148 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of Deluxe during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,017,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Deluxe by 63.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,237 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Deluxe Trading Down 0.8%

DLX traded down $0.13 on Wednesday, hitting $16.10. The company had a trading volume of 99,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 290,488. The company's fifty day moving average price is $15.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.29. Deluxe Co. has a 1 year low of $13.70 and a 1 year high of $24.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $720.09 million, a P/E ratio of 13.64, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.49.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. Deluxe had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 21.33%. The business had revenue of $536.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $525.43 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.46%. Deluxe's payout ratio is currently 96.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 3,926 shares of Deluxe stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.45 per share, for a total transaction of $64,582.70. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,488,398.95. This trade represents a 1.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Deluxe 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.