Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Has $4.61 Million Holdings in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 203,988 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,222 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Deluxe were worth $4,608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the 4th quarter valued at $220,326,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Deluxe by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,695,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,038,000 after acquiring an additional 18,133 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Deluxe by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,028,079 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,041,000 after acquiring an additional 17,583 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Deluxe by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 231,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,232,000 after acquiring an additional 11,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Deluxe by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 214,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,850,000 after acquiring an additional 6,303 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on DLX. StockNews.com lowered shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Sidoti upgraded shares of Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

Insider Activity at Deluxe

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 3,926 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.45 per share, with a total value 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. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 4.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Deluxe Stock Performance

NYSE:DLX opened at $15.83 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.58 and its 200-day moving average is $20.55. Deluxe Co. has a 52-week low of $15.13 and a 52-week high of $24.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $703.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.58%. Deluxe’s payout ratio is currently 101.69%.

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.