AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 17,933 Shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

AQR Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 247,474 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 17,933 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.56% of Deluxe worth $5,590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Deluxe during the 4th quarter worth about $220,326,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,361,658 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $53,351,000 after acquiring an additional 177,534 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,210,000. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in Deluxe by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 596,977 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $13,486,000 after purchasing an additional 118,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Deluxe by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 408,069 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $9,218,000 after purchasing an additional 103,989 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Deluxe Price Performance

Deluxe stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $15.76. The company had a trading volume of 244,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 290,773. The company has a market capitalization of $705.10 million, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Deluxe Co. has a 1 year low of $13.70 and a 1 year high of $24.87. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $15.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.33.

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

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.61%. Deluxe's payout ratio is 96.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DLX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sidoti raised shares of Deluxe to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Deluxe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of Deluxe from $33.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 3,926 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.45 per share, for a total transaction of $64,582.70. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,488,398.95. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.