Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Purchases 35,456 Shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 171.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,185 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 35,456 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Deluxe worth $1,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Deluxe by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 50,246 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $979,000 after buying an additional 12,992 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Deluxe by 57.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Deluxe in the 3rd quarter worth $262,000. ClearAlpha Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Deluxe in the 3rd quarter valued at $287,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in Deluxe by 2,770.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,314 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 6,094 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deluxe Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of DLX stock traded up $0.15 on Wednesday, hitting $16.01. The stock had a trading volume of 23,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 358,350. Deluxe Co. has a 12-month low of $15.13 and a 12-month high of $24.87. The stock has a market cap of $715.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $18.09 and a 200 day moving average of $20.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

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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 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, analysts expect that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 EPS 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe's payout ratio is 101.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on DLX. StockNews.com lowered shares of 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 3,926 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.45 per share, for a total transaction of $64,582.70. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at $4,488,398.95. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 5.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.