JPMorgan Chase & Co. Acquires 76,957 Shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 59.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,230 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 76,957 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.47% of Deluxe worth $4,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 2,239 shares in the last quarter. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the 4th quarter valued at about $533,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in Deluxe during the 4th quarter worth approximately $292,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its stake in shares of Deluxe by 171.0% during the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 56,185 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,269,000 after acquiring an additional 35,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 596,977 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,486,000 after purchasing an additional 118,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Deluxe

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 3,926 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 5.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Deluxe Stock Performance

Deluxe stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $14.87. The company had a trading volume of 27,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 281,210. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $15.76 and a 200 day moving average of $19.65. Deluxe Co. has a one year low of $13.70 and a one year high of $24.87. The firm has a market cap of $664.90 million, a PE ratio of 12.59, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.41. 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 announced its 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.07%. Deluxe's dividend payout ratio is 101.69%.

About Deluxe

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.