Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires Shares of 17,533 Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX)

Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 17,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $396,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in Deluxe by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,695,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,038,000 after purchasing an additional 18,133 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Deluxe by 10.0% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 115,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,247,000 after buying an additional 10,447 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 73.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 148,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,893,000 after buying an additional 62,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 valued at $20,041,000 after buying an additional 17,583 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Deluxe Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DLX opened at $14.54 on Friday. Deluxe Co. has a one year low of $13.70 and a one year high of $24.87. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $16.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $650.14 million, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Deluxe Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.25%. Deluxe’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at Deluxe

In related news, CEO Barry C. Mccarthy bought 3,926 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought 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 directly owns 272,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,488,398.95. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.60% of the stock is owned by company 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.