Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $3.49 Million Stock Holdings in Deluxe Corporation (NYSE:DLX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Deluxe Corporation (NYSE:DLX) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 220,472 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,782 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.49% of Deluxe worth $3,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Deluxe by 1,067.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 97.8% during the first quarter. Security National Bank now owns 3,567 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Deluxe by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,084 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,239 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Deluxe in the fourth quarter valued at $181,000. Finally, New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC acquired a new position in Deluxe in the fourth quarter valued at $204,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deluxe Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Deluxe stock opened at $16.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.01. Deluxe Corporation has a 52-week low of $13.61 and a 52-week high of $24.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $727.38 million, a PE ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.53.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. Deluxe had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 21.20%. The firm had revenue of $536.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $525.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. Deluxe’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Deluxe Corporation will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Deluxe’s payout ratio is currently 96.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on DLX. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Deluxe from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. TD Securities dropped their price target on shares of Deluxe from $33.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

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.