Verition Fund Management LLC Makes New Investment in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 13,419 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Deluxe by 6.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,040,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,824,000 after purchasing an additional 123,361 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 249.9% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 169,473 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,806,000 after buying an additional 121,042 shares during the last quarter. Arjuna Capital bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe during the 3rd quarter worth $1,490,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe during the 3rd quarter worth $1,303,000. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its stake in Deluxe by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,907,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,842,000 after buying an additional 62,525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Deluxe

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 2,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $4,265,227.20. This trade represents a 1.28 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Deluxe from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Deluxe Stock Performance

DLX opened at $23.32 on Friday. Deluxe Co. has a 12-month low of $18.48 and a 12-month high of $24.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $21.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.77%.

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.