New York State Common Retirement Fund Reduces Stake in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,315 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,345 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.09% of WEX worth $7,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WEX. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in WEX during the fourth quarter worth about $1,949,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in WEX by 2,524.0% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 163,844 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,876,000 after purchasing an additional 157,600 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in WEX by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 377 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd lifted its stake in WEX by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 32,931 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,407,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in WEX by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,053 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,345,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on WEX. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of WEX from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of WEX from $272.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of WEX from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on WEX from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of WEX in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $240.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 309 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.24, for a total transaction of $72,071.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,528 shares in the company, valued at $1,289,350.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other WEX news, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.24, for a total transaction of $72,071.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,528 shares in the company, valued at $1,289,350.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Sara Trickett sold 734 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.43, for a total transaction of $154,455.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,060 shares of company stock valued at $6,436,416. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

WEX Trading Up 0.3 %

WEX stock traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $211.30. 203,809 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 305,109. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a PE ratio of 34.36, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $229.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.55. WEX Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.95 and a twelve month high of $244.04.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $3.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.29 by ($0.15). WEX had a net margin of 10.21% and a return on equity of 30.92%. The company had revenue of $663.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $656.75 million. Research analysts predict that WEX Inc. will post 13.96 earnings per share for the current year.

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.