Sei Investments Co. Increases Holdings in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 233,687 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 21,685 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.53% of Deluxe worth $5,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in 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. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 3,926 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 $4,488,398.95. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Deluxe Price Performance

Shares of DLX traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $14.93. The stock had a trading volume of 584,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 270,783. The company has a market capitalization of $667.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, 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 12-month low of $14.20 and a 12-month high of $24.87. The company's 50-day moving average is $17.69 and its 200 day moving average is $20.15.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 21.33% and a net margin of 2.49%. On average, equities analysts predict that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.