American Century Companies Inc. Trims Position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,680,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 38,360 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Deluxe were worth $37,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DLX. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Deluxe by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 115,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,247,000 after purchasing an additional 10,447 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Deluxe by 73.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 148,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,893,000 after buying an additional 62,715 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Deluxe by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,028,079 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,041,000 after buying an additional 17,583 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Deluxe by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,017,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deluxe Trading Up 2.8 %

DLX stock opened at $16.42 on Friday. Deluxe Co. has a one year low of $15.13 and a one year high of $24.87. The company has a market capitalization of $734.03 million, a PE ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $18.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.30. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe’s payout ratio is 101.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deluxe

In other news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 3,926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.45 per share, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Sidoti raised shares of Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

Deluxe 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.