Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,260,552 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 64,060 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.88% of Deluxe worth $118,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Deluxe by 93.7% during 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 period. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Deluxe by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 18,384 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 87,000 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,965,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Deluxe by 57.2% in the 3rd 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. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Deluxe by 63.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,237 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DLX. Sidoti raised shares of Deluxe to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Deluxe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deluxe

In other news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 3,926 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $16.45 per share, with a total value of $64,582.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,488,398.95. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Deluxe Trading Up 2.2 %

DLX traded up $0.31 on Friday, hitting $14.60. The company had a trading volume of 408,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 278,557. The company's fifty day moving average price is $16.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.91. Deluxe Co. has a 1 year low of $13.70 and a 1 year high of $24.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $652.91 million, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.41.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 expect that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe's payout ratio is presently 101.69%.

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.