WEX Inc. $WEX Stock Sold by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Key Points

• Crossmark Global Holdings cut its WEX stake by 46% in the third quarter, selling 24,867 shares and retaining 29,147 shares valued at approximately $4.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 97.47% of WEX.
• WEX reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $5.35 per share versus the $5.08 consensus estimate and revenue of $753.5 million, up 14.2% year over year.
• Insiders sold 40,110 WEX shares worth about $7.55 million over the past 90 days. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, with an average price target of $186.40 compared with the reported share price of $197.72.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. decreased its position in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) by 46.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,147 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 24,867 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. owned about 0.09% of WEX worth $4,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in WEX by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,489 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,276,000 after buying an additional 1,748 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group raised its stake in shares of WEX by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 1,551 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in WEX by 12.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 906 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of WEX by 65.3% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its stake in shares of WEX by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 13,201 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,227,000 after purchasing an additional 2,293 shares during the period. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Robert Deshaies sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.56, for a total value of $347,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 17,288 shares in the company, valued at $3,000,505.28. This trade represents a 10.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Carlos Carriedo sold 1,075 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.00, for a total value of $199,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 11,076 shares in the company, valued at $2,060,136. The trade was a 8.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,110 shares of company stock worth $7,551,186. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WEX Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:WEX opened at $197.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company's 50-day moving average price is $186.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.84. WEX Inc. has a one year low of $125.29 and a one year high of $203.99.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $5.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.08 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $753.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $740.72 million. WEX had a return on equity of 43.19% and a net margin of 12.56%. WEX's revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.95 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that WEX Inc. will post 17.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on WEX. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $178.00 price target on WEX in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on WEX from $161.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings raised WEX from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on WEX in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $209.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of WEX from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEX presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $186.40.

WEX 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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