12,000 Shares in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) Acquired by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 12,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,335,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in WEX by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 108,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,245,000 after buying an additional 6,992 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $7,002,000 after purchasing an additional 35,804 shares during the last quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC lifted its position in shares of WEX by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC now owns 54,693 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in WEX by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,358 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,544,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boit C F David lifted its position in shares of WEX by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Boit C F David now owns 1,740 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEX Stock Performance

WEX stock opened at $233.47 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $228.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $201.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. WEX Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.95 and a 1-year high of $244.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a PE ratio of 37.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.59.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.29 by ($0.15). WEX had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 31.33%. The firm had revenue of $663.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $656.75 million. As a group, analysts expect that WEX Inc. will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on WEX. TheStreet raised WEX from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. 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. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of WEX from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on WEX from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of WEX in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEX

In other WEX news, CEO Melissa D. Smith sold 41,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 81,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,809,590. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Melissa D. Smith sold 41,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 81,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,809,590. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 4,531 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.03, for a total transaction of $987,893.93. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $796,463.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,433 shares of company stock valued at $14,708,896 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.