Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Makes New Investment in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new position in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 12,924 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DLX. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Deluxe during the 4th quarter worth approximately $220,326,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Deluxe by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 596,977 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,486,000 after purchasing an additional 118,300 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deluxe during the fourth quarter worth $1,770,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Deluxe in the fourth quarter valued at $1,548,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Deluxe by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,260,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $118,836,000 after buying an additional 64,060 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deluxe Stock Performance

Shares of DLX stock opened at $16.31 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $17.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.22. 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 1 year low of $15.13 and a 1 year high of $24.87. The firm has a market cap of $729.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.46.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (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%. Analysts predict that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.36%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on DLX shares. StockNews.com cut Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Sidoti upgraded shares of Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deluxe

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 3,926 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.45 per share, for a total transaction of $64,582.70. Following 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.