WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) Shares Bought by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 112.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in WEX were worth $998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in WEX by 206.1% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEX in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in WEX by 717.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 188 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in WEX by 456.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 228 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in WEX by 47.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 277 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WEX. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of WEX from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down from $207.00) on shares of WEX in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on WEX from $238.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on WEX from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WEX currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.64.

Insider Activity 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,582 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

WEX Price Performance

WEX stock opened at $169.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.57. WEX Inc. has a 12-month low of $165.51 and a 12-month high of $244.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $185.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.05.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.82 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.03 million. WEX had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 31.35%. WEX’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that WEX Inc. will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current year.

WEX Company 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.