2,844 Shares in WEX Inc. $WEX Acquired by Petrus Trust Company LTA

Key Points

• Petrus Trust Company LTA has acquired a new stake in WEX Inc., purchasing 2,844 shares valued at approximately $447,000.
• Key institutional investors now own 97.47% of WEX's stock, indicating strong institutional confidence in the company.
• WEX's stock has seen a recent price increase, with analysts raising target prices, showing a consensus price target of around $179.82.

Petrus Trust Company LTA bought a new stake in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,844 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $447,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEX by 2.6% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 895,406 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $140,597,000 after acquiring an additional 22,672 shares during the last quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP raised 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 last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of WEX by 20,412.8% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 638,563 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $99,069,000 after acquiring an additional 635,450 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEX by 652.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEX by 29.5% during the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 412,247 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $64,731,000 after acquiring an additional 93,975 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on WEX shares. UBS Group increased their target price on 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 target price on WEX from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Mizuho increased their target price on WEX from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays increased their price target on WEX from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on WEX in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $179.82.

Insider Activity at WEX

In related news, 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 value of $150,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $904,753.60. This represents a 14.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 1,931 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,252,478.55. The trade was a 20.93% 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEX traded down $6.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $169.92. The company had a trading volume of 258,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 315,881. 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 stock has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.31. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $166.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.28.

WEX 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.