Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $444,000 Position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX - Free Report) by 12,576.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,648 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,493 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Deluxe were worth $444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe during the 4th quarter valued at $220,326,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Deluxe in the fourth quarter worth $3,210,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 596,977 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,486,000 after buying an additional 118,300 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Deluxe by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 408,069 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $9,218,000 after buying an additional 103,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Deluxe by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 207,230 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,681,000 after buying an additional 76,957 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 3,926 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.45 per share, with a total value of $64,582.70. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DLX. Sidoti upgraded Deluxe to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Deluxe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th.

Deluxe Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:DLX traded up $0.17 on Thursday, hitting $15.01. 49,287 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 281,290. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $15.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.65. The company has a market cap of $671.20 million, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.41. Deluxe Co. has a 52 week low of $13.70 and a 52 week high of $24.87.

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

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.99%. Deluxe's dividend payout ratio is 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.