Optimize Financial Inc Takes Position in WEX Inc. $WEX

Key Points

• Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new stake in WEX Inc. during the first quarter, purchasing 2,479 shares valued at approximately $389,000.
• Notable institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings in WEX, with Hsbc Holdings PLC boosting its stake by 20,412.8% in the same quarter.
• WEX stock currently has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion and a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with an average price target of $179.82.

Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new stake in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,479 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $389,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WEX. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of WEX by 20,412.8% in the first 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 period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 652.7% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 412,665 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $64,797,000 after acquiring an additional 357,842 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 158.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 350,892 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $55,097,000 after acquiring an additional 215,036 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 79.5% in the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 381,767 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $59,945,000 after acquiring an additional 169,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 399.9% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 210,707 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,085,000 after acquiring an additional 168,558 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEX news, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 1,931 shares of the 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 sale, the insider owned 7,295 shares in the company, valued at $1,252,478.55. This represents a 20.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Carlos Carriedo sold 875 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 14.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

WEX Trading Down 3.5%

WEX stock traded down $6.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $169.92. The stock had a trading volume of 258,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 315,881. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $166.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $149.34. WEX Inc. has a twelve month low of $110.45 and a twelve month 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 cap of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WEX shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of WEX from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of WEX from $138.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of WEX from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of WEX from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of WEX from $186.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEX has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $179.82.

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.