New York State Common Retirement Fund Reduces Position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 191,255 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 16,811 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.43% of Deluxe worth $4,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DLX. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Deluxe in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Deluxe in the third quarter valued at $36,000. FMR LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Deluxe by 63.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,237 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management lifted its stake in Deluxe by 231.9% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 5,417 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 3,785 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Deluxe

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 2,290 shares of Deluxe stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.57 per share, for a total transaction of $53,975.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 180,960 shares in the company, valued at $4,265,227.20. This trade represents a 1.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 4.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Deluxe Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE DLX traded down $0.20 on Tuesday, reaching $15.61. The stock had a trading volume of 390,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,801. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Deluxe Co. has a 1 year low of $15.14 and a 1 year high of $24.87. The company has a market capitalization of $693.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.52.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.69%. Deluxe's dividend payout ratio is presently 101.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on DLX. Sidoti upgraded shares of Deluxe to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deluxe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

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.