Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 208,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,901 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.47% of Deluxe worth $4,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DLX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Deluxe by 3.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,167,850 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $106,406,000 after buying an additional 171,998 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Deluxe by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,040,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,824,000 after acquiring an additional 123,361 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Deluxe by 249.9% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 169,473 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,806,000 after acquiring an additional 121,042 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in shares of Deluxe by 3.4% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,907,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,842,000 after acquiring an additional 62,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Deluxe during the second quarter worth approximately $1,143,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Deluxe Stock Performance

Shares of DLX stock opened at $22.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $20.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.13. Deluxe Co. has a 52-week low of $17.60 and a 52-week high of $24.87.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Deluxe’s payout ratio is currently 96.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deluxe

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 2,820 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $53,805.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 178,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,409,023.60. This represents a 1.60 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday.

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.