Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 8,901 Shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 208,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,901 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Deluxe were worth $4,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DLX. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in Deluxe by 1.0% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,112,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,445,000 after purchasing an additional 21,752 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Deluxe by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,040,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,824,000 after buying an additional 123,361 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $42,842,000 after acquiring an additional 62,525 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Deluxe by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,695,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,038,000 after acquiring an additional 18,133 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Deluxe by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,028,079 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,041,000 after acquiring an additional 17,583 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Deluxe from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Deluxe Trading Down 0.5 %

Deluxe stock opened at $22.47 on Friday. Deluxe Co. has a 12 month low of $18.48 and a 12 month high of $24.87. The company has a market capitalization of $994.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deluxe

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy acquired 2,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.57 per share, with a total value of $53,975.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 180,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,265,227.20. The trade was a 1.28 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 4.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Deluxe

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.