Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 18,528 Shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Squarepoint Ops LLC lessened its stake in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 50.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,046 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 18,528 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Deluxe were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 534 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Deluxe by 63.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Deluxe by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,084 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,239 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Deluxe during the 4th quarter valued at about $181,000. Finally, New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC acquired a new position in Deluxe in the fourth quarter valued at about $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DLX. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Deluxe from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. TD Securities decreased their price target on Deluxe from $33.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

Deluxe Price Performance

Shares of Deluxe stock traded up $0.48 during trading on Monday, reaching $15.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 365,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 300,494. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $686.85 million, a P/E ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Deluxe Co. has a one year low of $13.61 and a one year high of $24.87.

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

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Deluxe's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.00%.

Deluxe Company 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.