CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Has $1.42 Million Stock Position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,911 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.14% of Deluxe worth $1,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Deluxe by 93.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Deluxe by 63.5% in the fourth 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. EMC Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 231.9% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 5,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 3,785 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,084 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 2,239 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deluxe Price Performance

DLX opened at $15.36 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.98. Deluxe Co. has a 52 week low of $13.70 and a 52 week high of $24.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $686.99 million, a PE ratio of 13.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.41.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last released 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.81%. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DLX has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Sidoti raised shares of Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 3,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.45 per share, for a total transaction of $64,582.70. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

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.