New York State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Stake in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 49,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in WEX were worth $8,702,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WEX. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in WEX by 206.1% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of WEX in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of WEX by 552.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 261 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in WEX by 47.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 277 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in WEX during the third quarter worth $59,000. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WEX. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on WEX from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of WEX in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on WEX from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on WEX from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEX has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $199.73.

WEX Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WEX opened at $159.10 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07. WEX Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.03 and a 52-week high of $244.04. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.68. The company has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.58.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.16. WEX had a return on equity of 32.35% and a net margin of 11.78%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that WEX Inc. will post 14.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEX

In other news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.44, for a total transaction of $33,152.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,334.08. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WEX Company Profile

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.