Federated Hermes Inc. Trims Stake in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its holdings in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) by 6.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 377,076 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 26,013 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 1.10% of WEX worth $59,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in WEX by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 29,408 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,283,000 after purchasing an additional 3,439 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in WEX during the fourth quarter worth about $80,535,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in WEX by 7.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in WEX during the fourth quarter worth about $3,446,000. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in WEX during the fourth quarter worth about $4,285,000. Institutional investors own 97.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jennifer Kimball sold 1,400 shares of WEX stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,177 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $416,441.16. This trade represents a 30.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Melissa D. Smith bought 3,721 shares of WEX stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $134.57 per share, with a total value of $500,734.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 101,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,616,061.74. This represents a 3.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

WEX Stock Performance

WEX traded down $2.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $171.92. The company had a trading volume of 464,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 472,069. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.23. WEX Inc. has a 12-month low of $110.45 and a 12-month high of $217.47. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $146.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.94.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of WEX in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of WEX from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of WEX from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of WEX from $186.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of WEX in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.25.

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.