AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 148,456 Shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) by 5,562.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,125 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 148,456 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.38% of WEX worth $26,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of WEX by 105.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,046,614 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $358,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052,087 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in WEX in the fourth quarter valued at $80,535,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in WEX during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,689,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in WEX during the fourth quarter worth $12,444,000. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP lifted its stake in WEX by 379.8% in the 4th quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 72,815 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,766,000 after purchasing an additional 57,639 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.47% of the company's stock.

WEX Price Performance

Shares of WEX traded down $1.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $121.19. The stock had a trading volume of 528,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 557,578. The company has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07. WEX Inc. has a 12-month low of $110.45 and a 12-month high of $217.47. The company's 50-day moving average is $139.53 and its 200 day moving average is $163.44.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.11. WEX had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 32.35%. The firm had revenue of $636.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $631.42 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that WEX Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of WEX from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America cut WEX from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $186.00 price objective on shares of WEX in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho reduced their target price on WEX from $215.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of WEX from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $260.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $182.40.

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.