Aquatic Capital Management LLC Sells 19,675 Shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 84.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,625 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 19,675 shares during the quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Deluxe were worth $82,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deluxe during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 142.3% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 36,224 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $818,000 after acquiring an additional 21,275 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 31,208 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 2,207 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in Deluxe in the 4th quarter valued at $392,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Deluxe by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 26,624 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,505 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Deluxe Stock Performance

DLX traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $15.76. The stock had a trading volume of 244,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 290,773. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.33. The firm has a market cap of $705.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.49. Deluxe Co. has a one year low of $13.70 and a one year high of $24.87. 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 (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. The firm 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 revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.61%. Deluxe's payout ratio is 96.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 3,926 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.45 per share, for a total transaction of $64,582.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at $4,488,398.95. The trade was a 1.46% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

About Deluxe

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.