Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 645,616 Shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its position in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) by 99.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,932 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 645,616 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in WEX were worth $462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in WEX during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of WEX during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of WEX by 108.4% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 248 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in WEX by 161.5% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in WEX by 72.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. 97.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEX Trading Up 0.6%

WEX stock traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $151.52. 407,004 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 580,898. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's 50 day moving average is $135.96 and its 200-day moving average is $151.14. WEX Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.45 and a fifty-two week high of $217.47.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $636.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $631.42 million. WEX had a return on equity of 37.90% and a net margin of 12.07%. The firm's revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that WEX Inc. will post 14.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEX

In related news, CEO Melissa D. Smith bought 3,721 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $134.57 per share, for a total transaction of $500,734.97. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 101,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,616,061.74. The trade was a 3.82% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Kimball sold 1,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.08, for a total value of $183,512.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,177 shares in the company, valued at $416,441.16. This represents a 30.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WEX. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of WEX from $172.00 to $138.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer started coverage on WEX in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on WEX from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on WEX from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $176.90.

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.