Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) Shares Bought by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 208,622 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,943 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.47% of Deluxe worth $4,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DLX. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deluxe in the fourth quarter worth about $220,326,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Deluxe by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,361,658 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $53,351,000 after purchasing an additional 177,534 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Deluxe in the fourth quarter worth about $3,210,000. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Deluxe by 24.7% in 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 raised its stake in shares of Deluxe by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 408,069 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,218,000 after purchasing an additional 103,989 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deluxe Stock Performance

Deluxe stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $14.11. 381,755 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 296,995. The firm has a market capitalization of $631.28 million, a PE ratio of 11.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.49. Deluxe Co. has a fifty-two week low of $13.61 and a fifty-two week high of $24.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $536.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $525.43 million. Deluxe had a return on equity of 21.33% and a net margin of 2.49%. Deluxe's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Deluxe's payout ratio is currently 96.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deluxe

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 3,926 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.45 per share, with a total value of $64,582.70. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,488,398.95. This trade represents a 1.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DLX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Deluxe from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. TD Securities reduced 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, May 1st.

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.