American Century Companies Inc. Has $37.95 Million Stock Position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

American Century Companies Inc. cut its stake in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,680,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 38,360 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 3.80% of Deluxe worth $37,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DLX. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Deluxe by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 50,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 12,992 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its position in shares of Deluxe by 53.7% during the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 43,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 15,052 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Deluxe during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Deluxe by 57.2% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deluxe during the third quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Deluxe

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 3,926 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.45 per share, with a total value of $64,582.70. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,488,398.95. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Deluxe Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE:DLX opened at $16.42 on Friday. Deluxe Co. has a 12 month low of $15.13 and a 12 month high of $24.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $18.50 and its 200 day moving average is $20.30. The stock 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.

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 net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 21.33%. Sell-side analysts expect that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.31%. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Sidoti raised Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

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.