Rhumbline Advisers Lowers Position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Rhumbline Advisers decreased its position in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 136,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,134 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.31% of Deluxe worth $3,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Round Hill Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Deluxe by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Round Hill Asset Management now owns 50,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $976,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 63.5% during 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. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Deluxe Stock Up 1.5 %

DLX opened at $16.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $731.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $20.94 and its 200 day moving average is $20.82. Deluxe Co. has a fifty-two week low of $16.01 and a fifty-two week high of $24.87.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last released its 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on DLX shares. Sidoti upgraded shares of Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Insider Transactions at Deluxe

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 2,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.57 per share, with a total value of $53,975.30. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 180,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,265,227.20. The trade was a 1.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.23% 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.