Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Grows Stock Holdings in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 48.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 66,839 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,836 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.15% of Deluxe worth $1,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deluxe during the fourth quarter worth $220,326,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Deluxe by 8.1% during 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 buying an additional 177,534 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Deluxe during the fourth quarter worth $3,210,000. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Deluxe by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 596,977 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $13,486,000 after buying an additional 118,300 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Deluxe during the fourth quarter worth $2,565,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deluxe Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of NYSE DLX traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $14.73. The company had a trading volume of 320,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 302,645. The company has a market capitalization of $659.11 million, a PE ratio of 12.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.51. 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 1-year low of $13.61 and a 1-year high of $24.87. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $14.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.19.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $525.43 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. Deluxe's quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. Deluxe's payout ratio is 96.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on DLX shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Deluxe from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. TD Securities lowered their price target on Deluxe from $33.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

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.