WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) Stake Lifted by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) by 50.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,841 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,310 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.09% of WEX worth $4,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of WEX in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of WEX in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of WEX by 108.4% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 248 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of WEX by 161.5% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of WEX by 72.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.47% of the company's stock.

WEX Stock Performance

NYSE WEX traded down $0.17 on Friday, hitting $153.38. The stock had a trading volume of 404,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 580,252. WEX Inc. has a one year low of $110.45 and a one year high of $217.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.06. The stock has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.23. The company's 50-day moving average is $141.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.62.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.11. WEX had a net margin of 12.07% and a return on equity of 37.90%. The firm had revenue of $636.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $631.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. WEX's quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that WEX Inc. will post 14.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of WEX in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of WEX from $172.00 to $138.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of WEX in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of WEX from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Eleven 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, WEX has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $174.45.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Melissa D. Smith bought 3,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $134.57 per share, for a total transaction of $500,734.97. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 101,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,616,061.74. This trade represents a 3.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Kimball sold 1,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.