Insider Buying: Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) CEO Purchases 3,926 Shares of Stock

Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 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, with a total value of $64,582.70. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,488,398.95. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Deluxe Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Deluxe stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $16.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 232,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 252,460. The company has a market capitalization of $737.55 million, a PE ratio of 14.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.26 and a 200 day moving average of $20.70. Deluxe Co. has a 12 month low of $15.13 and a 12 month high of $24.87.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last posted its 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 return on equity of 21.33% and a net margin of 2.49%. Analysts predict that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued 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 dividend yield of 7.23%. Deluxe’s payout ratio is presently 101.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DLX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sidoti raised Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Deluxe from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday.

Institutional Trading of Deluxe

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Deluxe during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Deluxe during the third quarter worth about $36,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in Deluxe by 57.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Deluxe by 63.5% during 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 period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.