Comerica Bank Acquires 5,822 Shares of WEX Inc. $WEX

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its holdings in WEX Inc. by 38.0% in Q1, bringing its ownership to approximately $3.32 million worth of shares.
• Other hedge funds also increased their stakes, with Sunriver Management LLC growing its holdings by 75.9%, indicating strong institutional interest in WEX.
• Recent insider trading saw Ann Elena Drew and COO Carlos Carriedo sell portions of their shares, reducing their ownership by 20.93% and 14.24% respectively.

Comerica Bank increased its holdings in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) by 38.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,128 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,822 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned approximately 0.06% of WEX worth $3,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lyrical Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 0.3% during the first quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 826,188 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $129,728,000 after acquiring an additional 2,754 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in WEX by 20,412.8% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 638,563 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $99,069,000 after purchasing an additional 635,450 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in WEX by 79.5% during the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 381,767 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $59,945,000 after purchasing an additional 169,137 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of WEX by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 358,371 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $62,830,000 after buying an additional 51,617 shares during the period. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC grew its holdings in WEX by 113.0% in the 4th quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 318,272 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $55,799,000 after buying an additional 168,832 shares in the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho increased their price target on WEX from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of WEX from $186.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of WEX from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of WEX from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on WEX from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $179.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 1,931 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.69, for a total transaction of $331,533.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,252,478.55. This represents a 20.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Carlos Carriedo sold 875 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $150,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 5,270 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $904,753.60. This trade represents a 14.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

WEX Stock Up 2.5%

WEX stock traded up $4.14 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $171.31. The company had a trading volume of 167,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 675,778. WEX Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.45 and a fifty-two week high of $217.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.31. The firm's fifty day moving average is $163.75 and its 200-day moving average is $148.46.

About WEX

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.