Invesco Ltd. Purchases 49,104 Shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 766,490 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 49,104 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 1.73% of Deluxe worth $17,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Deluxe by 93.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the third quarter worth $36,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Deluxe by 57.2% during the third 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 during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Deluxe by 63.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,237 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management increased its stake in Deluxe by 231.9% in the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 5,417 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 3,785 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DLX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Deluxe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Sidoti upgraded shares of Deluxe to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Insider Transactions at Deluxe

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 3,926 shares of Deluxe stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 $4,488,398.95. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Deluxe Price Performance

NYSE:DLX traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.19. The company had a trading volume of 52,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 282,128. The company has a market capitalization of $679.03 million, a PE ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Deluxe Co. has a 52-week low of $13.70 and a 52-week high of $24.87. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $15.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.63.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.90%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.