Barclays PLC Boosts Holdings in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 168,640 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,193 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.38% of Deluxe worth $3,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hudson Portfolio Management LLC raised its position in Deluxe by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Portfolio Management LLC now owns 19,540 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 4,900 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Deluxe by 12,576.1% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 19,648 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 19,493 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Deluxe by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 766,490 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $17,315,000 after purchasing an additional 49,104 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Deluxe in the fourth quarter valued at $240,000. Finally, Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Deluxe in the fourth quarter valued at $993,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DLX shares. Sidoti upgraded Deluxe to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Deluxe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, TD Securities dropped their price objective on Deluxe from $33.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday.

Deluxe Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE DLX traded up $0.15 during trading on Thursday, reaching $14.75. The stock had a trading volume of 718,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 288,099. Deluxe Co. has a fifty-two week low of $13.70 and a fifty-two week high of $24.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.98. The business's 50-day moving average price is $15.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.52. The company has a market cap of $659.75 million, a P/E ratio of 12.50, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.41.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 21.33% and a net margin of 2.49%. The company had revenue of $536.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $525.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. Deluxe's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.13%. Deluxe's payout ratio is currently 101.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 3,926 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.45 per share, with a total value of $64,582.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at $4,488,398.95. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company 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.