23,604 Shares in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) Acquired by Ipsen Advisor Group LLC

Ipsen Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 23,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $533,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Deluxe by 93.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Deluxe in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Deluxe during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. FMR LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Deluxe by 63.5% in the fourth 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 during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 3,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.45 per share, for a total transaction of $64,582.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at $4,488,398.95. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Deluxe Stock Performance

Shares of DLX stock opened at $15.80 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $18.75 and its 200 day moving average is $20.36. The company has a market capitalization of $706.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.05). Deluxe had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 21.33%. Sell-side analysts expect that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.59%. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on DLX shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Sidoti raised Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th.

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.