Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 3,897 Shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 135,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,897 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Deluxe were worth $3,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deluxe during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $220,326,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,260,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $118,836,000 after acquiring an additional 64,060 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Deluxe by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,695,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,038,000 after purchasing an additional 18,133 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Deluxe by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,280,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,921,000 after purchasing an additional 31,288 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 1.7% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DLX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Sidoti raised shares of Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

Insider Activity

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

Deluxe Stock Up 2.8 %

DLX stock opened at $16.31 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $17.97 and its 200 day moving average is $20.22. The stock has a market cap of $729.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Deluxe Co. has a 1-year low of $15.13 and a 1-year high of $24.87.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe’s payout ratio is currently 101.69%.

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.