VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Sells 25,719 Shares of WEX Inc. $WEX

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems cut its WEX stake by 91.8%, selling 25,719 shares in the third quarter and retaining 2,300 shares valued at about $388,000.
• WEX reported quarterly EPS of $6.13, topping the $5.68 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 12.8% year over year to $780.1 million and also beat expectations.
• Analyst sentiment was moderately positive: MarketBeat reported a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $191.10, while institutional investors collectively owned 97.47% of WEX.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lowered its stake in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) by 91.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,300 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 25,719 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al's holdings in WEX were worth $388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in WEX in the third quarter worth $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in WEX in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WEX during the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of WEX during the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEX by 65.3% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 519 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.47% of the company's stock.

WEX Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEX opened at $182.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00. The stock has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.93. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $184.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.15. WEX Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.29 and a 1-year high of $203.99.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $6.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.68 by $0.45. WEX had a net margin of 14.05% and a return on equity of 45.74%. The company had revenue of $780.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $749.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.59 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that WEX Inc. will post 18.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEX has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on WEX from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on WEX from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Zacks Research raised WEX from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Evercore upgraded WEX to an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on WEX in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $209.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $191.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Sachin Dhawan sold 3,873 shares of WEX stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.05, for a total transaction of $708,952.65. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 11,286 shares in the company, valued at $2,065,902.30. The trade was a 25.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert Deshaies sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.56, for a total transaction of $347,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 17,288 shares in the company, valued at $3,000,505.28. This trade represents a 10.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,325 shares of company stock valued at $7,067,912. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WEX Company Profile

WEX Inc NYSE: WEX is a financial technology company that provides payment-processing and business-management solutions. Its products are designed to help organizations manage corporate spending, employee benefits and mobility-related expenses through specialized payment accounts, software and data tools.

WEX's mobility business serves commercial vehicle fleets with fuel cards, fleet-payment programs, expense controls, telematics integrations and related solutions. The company also supports emerging mobility needs, including electric-vehicle charging payments.

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