William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 3,069 Shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,287,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,069 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 2.92% of Deluxe worth $28,912,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Deluxe by 3.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,167,850 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $106,406,000 after purchasing an additional 171,998 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Deluxe by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,112,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,445,000 after buying an additional 21,752 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Deluxe by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,750,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,548,000 after buying an additional 130,357 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Deluxe by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 813,712 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,276,000 after acquiring an additional 27,111 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Deluxe by 6.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 584,592 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,037,000 after acquiring an additional 36,133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deluxe

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 2,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.08 per share, for a total transaction of $53,805.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 178,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,409,023.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Deluxe Price Performance

DLX stock opened at $19.84 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $21.07 and a 200-day moving average of $21.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $877.13 million, a P/E ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.47. Deluxe Co. has a 12 month low of $16.00 and a 12 month high of $24.87.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.29. Deluxe had a net margin of 1.78% and a return on equity of 20.90%. The firm had revenue of $537.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Deluxe Co. will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio is currently 155.85%.

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.