Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Invests $213,000 in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS acquired a new stake in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 9,451 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Deluxe by 93.7% in the fourth 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. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Deluxe by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 18,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 860 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Deluxe by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 87,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,965,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $62,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 3,926 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 owns 272,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,488,398.95. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Deluxe Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE DLX opened at $16.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $734.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.46. Deluxe Co. has a one year low of $15.13 and a one year high of $24.87. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.30.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DLX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sidoti upgraded shares of 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 note 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.