2,275 Shares in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) Purchased by Empirical Asset Management LLC

Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $399,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC purchased a new position in WEX in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $918,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of WEX by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,292 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEX during the 4th quarter worth $331,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of WEX in the 4th quarter worth about $1,168,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in WEX by 265.1% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 3,834 shares during the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at WEX

In related news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.44, for a total value of $33,152.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,334.08. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

WEX Price Performance

WEX stock opened at $184.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.58. WEX Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.51 and a 1 year high of $244.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $178.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.07.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.82 by $0.53. WEX had a return on equity of 31.35% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.44 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that WEX Inc. will post 13.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WEX shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of WEX from $238.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on WEX from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $200.00 price target (down previously from $207.00) on shares of WEX in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on WEX from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.55.

WEX Profile

WEX Inc operates a commerce platform in the United States and internationally. The Mobility segment offers fleet vehicle payment solutions, transaction processing, and information management services; and provides account activation and account retention services; authorization and billing inquiries, and account maintenance services; account management; credit and collections services; merchant services; analytics solutions; and ancillary services and offerings.