Franklin Resources Inc. Takes $396,000 Position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 17,533 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $396,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Deluxe by 93.7% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Deluxe in the third quarter valued at $36,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in Deluxe by 57.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Deluxe by 63.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,237 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Deluxe by 231.9% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 5,417 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 3,785 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Deluxe Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DLX traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $15.13. 21,409 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 281,193. Deluxe Co. has a 52 week low of $13.70 and a 52 week high of $24.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $15.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.69. The company has a market cap of $676.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.41.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.05). Deluxe had a return on equity of 21.33% and a net margin of 2.49%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe's payout ratio is 101.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DLX shares. Sidoti upgraded shares of Deluxe to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Deluxe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th.

Insider Transactions at Deluxe

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 3,926 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.45 per share, with a total value of $64,582.70. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 272,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,488,398.95. The trade was 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 at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

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.