William Blair Investment Management LLC Buys 31,288 Shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,280,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,288 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Deluxe were worth $28,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Deluxe by 93.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Deluxe during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Deluxe during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Deluxe by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Deluxe by 63.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Sidoti raised Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday.

Deluxe Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE DLX opened at $15.87 on Wednesday. Deluxe Co. has a 12 month low of $15.13 and a 12 month high of $24.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $709.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.32 and a 200-day moving average of $20.49.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 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 completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at $4,488,398.95. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.