Marshall Wace LLP Makes New $1.86 Million Investment in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 82,460 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,863,000. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.19% of Deluxe at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Deluxe by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 20,279 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Deluxe in the fourth quarter valued at about $208,000. Mariner LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deluxe in the fourth quarter valued at about $273,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Deluxe by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 168,640 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,809,000 after acquiring an additional 20,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Portfolio Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Deluxe by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Portfolio Management LLC now owns 19,540 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 4,900 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Sidoti upgraded shares of Deluxe to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deluxe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th.

Insider Activity

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 3,926 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.45 per share, for a total transaction of $64,582.70. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,851 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Deluxe Price Performance

Deluxe stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $15.49. 255,030 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 284,058. The company has a market cap of $692.67 million, a P/E ratio of 13.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.41. 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 twelve month low of $13.70 and a twelve month high of $24.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.56.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.05). Deluxe had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 21.33%. Equities analysts expect that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.75%. Deluxe's payout ratio is currently 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.