Bank of America Corp DE Buys 55,429 Shares of Deluxe Corporation $DLX

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Deluxe stake by 20% in the first quarter, adding 55,429 shares to own 332,948 shares worth approximately $9.17 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 93.9% of DLX’s outstanding shares.
• Deluxe exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.87 versus the $0.81 consensus and revenue of $499.3 million, although revenue declined 4.2% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious “Hold” rating, while Deluxe announced a $0.30 quarterly dividend, or $1.20 annually, representing a 5.0% yield.

Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Deluxe Corporation (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 20.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 332,948 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 55,429 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.73% of Deluxe worth $9,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Towle & Co. bought a new position in shares of Deluxe in the first quarter worth approximately $7,963,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 99.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 543,359 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,645,000 after buying an additional 271,225 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Deluxe by 56.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 681,181 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,211,000 after buying an additional 246,767 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Deluxe by 189.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 367,278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,115,000 after buying an additional 240,359 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Deluxe by 49.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 634,447 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,094,000 after buying an additional 211,109 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DLX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Deluxe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Deluxe from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Deluxe has an average rating of "Hold".

Deluxe Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:DLX opened at $24.12 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.72, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $24.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.01. Deluxe Corporation has a 12 month low of $17.76 and a 12 month high of $32.07.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.06. Deluxe had a net margin of 4.91% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The firm had revenue of $499.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $486.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The business's revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Deluxe Corporation will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. Deluxe's dividend payout ratio is 53.33%.

Deluxe Company Profile

Deluxe Corporation, founded in 1915 and headquartered in Shoreview, Minnesota, is a provider of integrated business and financial technology solutions. Originally established as a check printing company, Deluxe has evolved its offerings to support small businesses, financial institutions and entrepreneurs with a comprehensive suite of services spanning print, digital and software platforms.

The company's core business activities include printing checks, forms and promotional materials, as well as delivering digital marketing and customer engagement solutions.

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