Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 2,239 Shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) by 46.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,084 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,239 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Deluxe were worth $161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. FMR LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted 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 valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares during the period. Finally, EMC Capital Management lifted its position in Deluxe by 231.9% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 5,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 3,785 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Sidoti raised Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Deluxe Trading Down 6.6 %

NYSE:DLX opened at $15.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $678.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $17.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.18. Deluxe Co. has a 52 week low of $15.07 and a 52 week high of $24.87.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.75 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.91%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 3,926 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $16.45 per share, for a total transaction of $64,582.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,488,398.95. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

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.