KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Lowers Holdings in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS has reduced its holdings in WEX Inc. by 24.7%, now owning 6,400 shares valued at approximately $1,005,000.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for WEX, with Robert W. Baird setting a new target of $198.00 and Barclays adjusting theirs to $170.00, while the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold".
• WEX reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.51, surpassing analyst expectations, despite a 2.5% decline in revenue year-over-year.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS decreased its position in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) by 24.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,400 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,100 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in WEX were worth $1,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WEX. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in WEX by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 29,408 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,283,000 after acquiring an additional 3,439 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 valued at $358,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052,087 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in WEX during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,535,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in WEX during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,580,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in WEX by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,008 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,053,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on WEX from $186.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped 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. William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of WEX in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of WEX in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of WEX from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $180.25.

WEX Stock Performance

WEX opened at $175.86 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.99. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $146.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.76. WEX Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.45 and a 52-week high of $217.47.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.11. WEX had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 41.87%. The business had revenue of $636.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $631.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. WEX's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that WEX Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at WEX

In other 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 purchased at an average price of $134.57 per share, for a total transaction of $500,734.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 101,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,616,061.74. This represents a 3.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Kimball sold 1,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.08, for a total transaction of $183,512.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,177 shares of the company's stock, valued at $416,441.16. This represents a 30.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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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