Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 6,303 Shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 214,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,303 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.48% of Deluxe worth $4,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Deluxe in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Deluxe by 57.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew 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 worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management increased 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 worth $122,000 after buying an additional 3,785 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on DLX shares. StockNews.com cut Deluxe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Sidoti raised shares of Deluxe to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Insider Transactions at Deluxe

In other Deluxe news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 2,290 shares of Deluxe stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.57 per share, for a total transaction of $53,975.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,265,227.20. This represents a 1.28 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 4.23% of the company’s stock.

Deluxe Trading Down 4.2 %

Deluxe stock opened at $15.77 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Deluxe Co. has a 52-week low of $15.74 and a 52-week high of $24.87. The company has a market cap of $700.68 million, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.84.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.05). Deluxe had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 21.33%. Analysts predict that Deluxe Co. will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.69%.

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.