Federated Hermes Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 372,006 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 28,782 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.87% of WEX worth $72,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of WEX by 19,044.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 35,992 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,002,000 after purchasing an additional 35,804 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in WEX by 56.1% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 141,287 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,575,000 after acquiring an additional 50,771 shares during the period. Burney Co. lifted its position in shares of WEX by 131.1% in the third quarter. Burney Co. now owns 21,120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,972,000 after acquiring an additional 11,983 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of WEX by 65.5% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 54,523 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,255,000 after acquiring an additional 21,578 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in shares of WEX during the third quarter worth about $6,545,000. Institutional investors own 97.47% of the company's stock.

WEX Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of WEX stock traded up $0.58 on Friday, reaching $230.48. The company had a trading volume of 219,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 297,136. The firm has a market cap of $9.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $229.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.31. WEX Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.95 and a 1 year high of $244.04.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $3.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.29 by ($0.15). WEX had a return on equity of 31.33% and a net margin of 10.46%. The firm had revenue of $663.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $656.75 million. As a group, research analysts predict that WEX Inc. will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on WEX from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of WEX from $205.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of WEX in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of WEX from $272.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on WEX from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $240.00.

Insider Activity

In other WEX news, CEO Melissa D. Smith sold 41,107 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $8,426,935.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,809,590. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Sara Trickett sold 887 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.61, for a total value of $199,229.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Melissa D. Smith sold 41,107 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $8,426,935.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 81,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,809,590. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 69,433 shares of company stock worth $14,708,896. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.