Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 177,534 Shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,361,658 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 177,534 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 5.33% of Deluxe worth $53,351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Deluxe by 93.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Deluxe by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 18,384 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Deluxe by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 87,000 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,965,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Deluxe by 63.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,237 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares during the period. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its position in Deluxe by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 20,279 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Deluxe

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 3,926 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought 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 owns 272,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,488,398.95. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Deluxe Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DLX traded up $0.34 during trading on Thursday, hitting $15.66. 53,806 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 288,655. The company has a market cap of $700.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a PEG 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 52-week low of $13.70 and a 52-week high of $24.87. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $15.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.37.

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

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Deluxe's payout ratio is 96.00%.

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.