Stephens Inc. AR Lowers Stock Position in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Stephens Inc. AR cut its position in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,018 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in WEX were worth $2,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEX. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WEX by 206.1% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of WEX during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in WEX by 552.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 261 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in WEX by 47.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 277 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of WEX during the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. 97.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WEX Stock Performance

NYSE:WEX opened at $155.25 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $176.28 and its 200 day moving average is $185.51. The firm has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.02. WEX Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.03 and a 52-week high of $244.04.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.16. WEX had a return on equity of 32.35% and a net margin of 11.78%. Research analysts predict that WEX Inc. will post 14.27 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WEX. Barclays cut their price target on shares of WEX from $200.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of WEX from $215.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of WEX in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on WEX from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $199.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEX news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.44, for a total value of $33,152.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,334.08. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.