Teacher Retirement System of Texas Buys 1,915 Shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,245 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,915 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.11% of Deluxe worth $1,067,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Deluxe during the 4th quarter worth $220,326,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deluxe during the fourth quarter valued at $1,770,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,548,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Deluxe by 73.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 148,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,893,000 after acquiring an additional 62,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Deluxe by 91.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 130,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,539,000 after purchasing an additional 62,148 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Deluxe

In other news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 3,926 shares of Deluxe stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Deluxe Stock Down 3.2 %

Deluxe stock opened at $15.87 on Friday. Deluxe Co. has a 1-year low of $15.13 and a 1-year high of $24.87. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.29. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $709.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.46.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 21.33% and a net margin of 2.49%. Equities research analysts forecast that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.56%. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sidoti upgraded shares of Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

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.