Nuveen Asset Management LLC Sells 120,603 Shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 26.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 340,054 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 120,603 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.77% of Deluxe worth $7,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the 4th quarter valued at $220,326,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,361,658 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,351,000 after acquiring an additional 177,534 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Deluxe in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,210,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Deluxe by 24.7% in the 4th 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 grew its holdings in Deluxe by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 408,069 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $9,218,000 after purchasing an additional 103,989 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on DLX shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Deluxe from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. TD Securities dropped 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 3,926 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.45 per share, for a total transaction of $64,582.70. Following the purchase, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Deluxe Stock Performance

Deluxe stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $14.37. The company had a trading volume of 481,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 297,795. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $642.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $14.96 and a 200-day moving average of $18.60. Deluxe Co. has a 52 week low of $13.61 and a 52 week high of $24.87.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.03. Deluxe had a return on equity of 21.33% and a net margin of 2.49%. The firm had revenue of $536.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $525.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.35%. Deluxe's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.