Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,777,965 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 69,343 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of WEX worth $662,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in WEX by 1,635.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,540,000 after purchasing an additional 8,277 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of WEX by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 327 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in WEX by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,825 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in WEX by 108.4% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its holdings in WEX by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,373 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WEX shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of WEX from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on WEX from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America lowered WEX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays decreased their target price on WEX from $200.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of WEX in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WEX currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $187.80.

WEX Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:WEX opened at $154.69 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $162.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.13. The company has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.61. WEX Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.03 and a 1-year high of $244.04.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.16. WEX had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 32.35%. On average, equities analysts predict that WEX Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current fiscal 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.