Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Raises Position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 34.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 408,069 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 103,989 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 0.92% of Deluxe worth $9,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DLX. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Deluxe during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $220,326,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Deluxe by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,260,552 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $118,836,000 after purchasing an additional 64,060 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Deluxe by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,695,132 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,038,000 after purchasing an additional 18,133 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Deluxe by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,280,259 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,921,000 after purchasing an additional 31,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Deluxe by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,028,079 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $20,041,000 after purchasing an additional 17,583 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 3,926 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at $4,488,398.95. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Deluxe Price Performance

Shares of DLX stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $14.60. The company had a trading volume of 408,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 277,892. The company has a market capitalization of $652.91 million, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.41. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $16.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.91. 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 current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 21.33%. Equities research analysts forecast that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.22%. Deluxe's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.