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

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,897 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.31% of Deluxe worth $3,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DLX. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 93.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Deluxe during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. FMR LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake 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 valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management increased its position in shares of Deluxe by 231.9% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 5,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 3,785 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Sidoti upgraded Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a research 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 on Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.45 per share, with a total value of $64,582.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at $4,488,398.95. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Deluxe Stock Performance

Shares of Deluxe stock opened at $16.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $729.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Deluxe Co. has a one year low of $15.13 and a one year high of $24.87.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

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

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.