Lazard Asset Management LLC Increases Position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 33.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,962 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 32,996 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.30% of Deluxe worth $2,956,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Deluxe in the 4th quarter valued at $427,000. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Deluxe by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 13,631 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 38,701 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 13,448 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Deluxe by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 418,624 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,457,000 after acquiring an additional 11,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Deluxe by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 208,622 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,713,000 after purchasing an additional 25,943 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Securities reduced their price target on shares of Deluxe from $33.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Sidoti upgraded Deluxe to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Deluxe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th.

Deluxe Stock Performance

Shares of DLX traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $14.96. 507,279 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 292,230. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $15.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.20. 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 stock has a market cap of $669.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.49. Deluxe Co. has a 1 year low of $13.70 and a 1 year high of $24.87.

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

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.02%. Deluxe's payout ratio is 96.00%.

Insider Activity at Deluxe

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 3,926 shares of Deluxe stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 5.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.