Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) Shares Purchased by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 24.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 596,977 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 118,300 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 1.35% of Deluxe worth $13,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the period. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Deluxe by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 18,384 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 860 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 87,000 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,965,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Deluxe Stock Performance

DLX stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.87. 239,985 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 267,095. Deluxe Co. has a 1-year low of $15.13 and a 1-year 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. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $18.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.24. The firm has a market cap of $709.52 million, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.46.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.75 EPS 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%. On average, analysts expect that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders 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 7.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe's payout ratio is 101.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 3,926 shares of Deluxe stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.45 per share, for a total transaction of $64,582.70. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Deluxe 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.