Jane Street Group LLC Grows Stock Position in WEX Inc. $WEX

Key Points

• Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in WEX Inc. by 399.9% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 0.62% of the company, valued at $33.1 million.
• Several brokerages have raised their price targets for WEX, with Robert W. Baird setting a new target of $198.00 and Barclays adjusting to $170.00, indicating positive analyst sentiment.
• Insider activities included COO Carlos Carriedo selling 875 shares, impacting his ownership by 14.24%, while the stock is currently down 3.5% from its previous trading session.

Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) by 399.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 210,707 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 168,558 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC owned about 0.62% of WEX worth $33,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEX. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in WEX by 61.9% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,825 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,197,000 after buying an additional 2,610 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of WEX by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,271 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of WEX by 48.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 20,324 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,563,000 after purchasing an additional 6,677 shares during the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of WEX by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,168 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of WEX by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,422 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WEX. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on WEX from $186.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on WEX from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Barclays raised their price objective on WEX from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on WEX from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on WEX in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WEX currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $179.82.

Insider Activity at WEX

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

WEX Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of WEX opened at $169.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.99. WEX Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.45 and a 12 month high of $217.47. The stock's 50 day moving average is $166.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.34. The firm has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.31.

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.

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