Axa S.A. Has $3.08 Million Holdings in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Axa S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 50.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 136,493 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 45,645 shares during the period. Axa S.A. owned 0.31% of Deluxe worth $3,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DLX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Deluxe by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,260,552 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $118,836,000 after buying an additional 64,060 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Deluxe by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 766,490 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,315,000 after acquiring an additional 49,104 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Deluxe by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 214,690 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,850,000 after purchasing an additional 6,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,017,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deluxe Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:DLX opened at $15.33 on Thursday. 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 1-year low of $13.70 and a 1-year high of $24.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $685.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.49. The business's 50-day moving average price is $15.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.37.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. Deluxe's quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Deluxe's payout ratio is presently 96.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on DLX shares. TD Securities reduced their price objective on Deluxe from $33.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Sidoti upgraded Deluxe to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Deluxe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 3,926 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,488,398.95. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

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.

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