Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 5,581 Shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. significantly decreased its stake in WEX Inc. by 67.3%, selling 5,581 shares and now holding a total of 2,706 shares worth approximately $425,000.
• WEX Inc. reported earnings of $3.51 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, despite a 2.5% year-over-year revenue decline.
• Multiple equity research analysts have raised their price targets for WEX, with UBS Group increasing its target from $138 to $185, while maintaining a "neutral" rating.

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) by 67.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,706 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,581 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in WEX were worth $425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of WEX by 40.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,094 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares in the last quarter. Brookwood Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEX in the first quarter worth approximately $279,000. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in WEX in the 1st quarter worth approximately $392,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of WEX during the 1st quarter valued at about $533,000. Finally, Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in WEX during the first quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Carlos Carriedo sold 875 shares of WEX stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 5,270 shares of the company's stock, valued at $904,753.60. The trade was a 14.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Kimball sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.08, for a total value of $183,512.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,177 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $416,441.16. The trade was a 30.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on WEX shares. 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. Mizuho lifted their target price on WEX from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of WEX from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of WEX in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of WEX from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $181.50.

WEX Stock Performance

Shares of WEX stock traded up $2.41 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $168.78. 270,971 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 507,037. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $148.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.52. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. WEX Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.45 and a fifty-two week high of $217.47.

About WEX

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.