Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 11,233 Shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 231,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,233 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Deluxe were worth $5,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Deluxe during the third quarter valued at $36,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 63.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management raised its position in shares of Deluxe by 231.9% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 5,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 3,785 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Deluxe Price Performance

DLX opened at $18.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $821.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.52. 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 12-month low of $18.38 and a 12-month high of $24.87. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.14.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Deluxe Co. will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy purchased 2,290 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.57 per share, for a total transaction of $53,975.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 180,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,265,227.20. This represents a 1.28 % 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 company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DLX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sidoti upgraded Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

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.