Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Increases Stock Position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its position in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) by 171.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 56,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,456 shares during the quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Deluxe worth $1,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 50,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 12,992 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Deluxe by 57.2% in 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 during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the third quarter valued at about $262,000. ClearAlpha Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Deluxe during the third quarter worth about $287,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 2,770.0% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,314 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 6,094 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DLX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Sidoti upgraded shares of Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Deluxe Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DLX opened at $15.87 on Friday. Deluxe Co. has a 52 week low of $15.13 and a 52 week high of $24.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $18.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.28. The company has a market cap of $709.70 million, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last posted its quarterly 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%. Research analysts predict that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 101.69%.

Insider Activity at Deluxe

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 3,926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.45 per share, with a total value of $64,582.70. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,488,398.95. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

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.