Amalgamated Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Amalgamated Bank lessened its stake in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) by 12.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,567 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,372 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank's holdings in WEX were worth $2,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of WEX by 105.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,046,614 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $358,812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052,087 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in WEX during the fourth quarter valued at $80,535,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in WEX by 1,684.2% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 201,922 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,401,000 after purchasing an additional 190,605 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC increased its position in WEX by 113.0% in the fourth quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 318,272 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $55,799,000 after buying an additional 168,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of WEX in the fourth quarter worth about $28,689,000. Institutional investors own 97.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Kimball sold 1,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.08, for a total value of $183,512.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,441.16. The trade was a 30.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Melissa D. Smith acquired 3,721 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $134.57 per share, for a total transaction of $500,734.97. Following the purchase, 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. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on WEX. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of WEX from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of WEX in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on WEX from $172.00 to $138.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of WEX from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $176.90.

WEX Price Performance

WEX stock traded down $1.72 during trading on Monday, hitting $149.51. 722,269 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 581,918. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. WEX Inc. has a 52 week low of $110.45 and a 52 week high of $217.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.23.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $636.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $631.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that WEX Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.