Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 23,310 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $527,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DLX. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Deluxe during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Deluxe in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Deluxe Stock Performance

Shares of Deluxe stock opened at $16.03 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $716.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58, 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.45 and its 200-day moving average is $20.52.

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 analysts predict that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 7.49%. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio is 101.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 3,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Deluxe

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.