Bessemer Securities LLC Sells 2,000 Shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Bessemer Securities LLC decreased its position in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 21.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Securities LLC’s holdings in WEX were worth $1,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in WEX by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,196,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $748,819,000 after purchasing an additional 131,664 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in WEX by 1.2% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,107,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $732,950,000 after acquiring an additional 49,480 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of WEX by 4.2% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,101,566 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $731,925,000 after acquiring an additional 164,902 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of WEX by 342.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,059,893 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $337,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,594,294 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of WEX by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,336,884 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $245,840,000 after purchasing an additional 39,312 shares in the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of WEX from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. TheStreet lowered shares of WEX from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of WEX from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on WEX from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 27th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on WEX from $225.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.54.

WEX Stock Up 0.5 %

WEX traded up $0.95 during trading on Monday, reaching $175.33. 23,995 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 305,120. The stock has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $185.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.35. WEX Inc. has a twelve month low of $152.32 and a twelve month high of $204.05.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The business services provider reported $3.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.15. WEX had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 32.16%. The company had revenue of $651.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.45 million. Equities analysts expect that WEX Inc. will post 12.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other WEX news, Director Stephen Montgomery Smith bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $165.31 per share, with a total value of $165,310.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $804,067.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Stephen Montgomery Smith bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $165.31 per share, for a total transaction of $165,310.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $804,067.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Kimball sold 399 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.87, for a total transaction of $69,374.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $158,395.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

WEX Profile

WEX Inc operates a commerce platform in the United States and internationally. The Fleet Solutions segment offers fleet vehicle payment solutions, transaction processing, and information management services. It also provides account 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 tools to fleets to manage expenses and capital requirements.