Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 1,809 Shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its position in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,809 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.19% of WEX worth $16,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commerce Bank increased its position in shares of WEX by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 3,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in WEX by 0.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of WEX by 3.3% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,238 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEX by 40.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 301 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of WEX by 47.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 277 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on WEX shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of WEX from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on WEX from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on WEX from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on WEX from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEX

In other news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of WEX stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 7,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,334.08. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

WEX Price Performance

WEX stock opened at $176.20 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. WEX Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.51 and a 1 year high of $244.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $189.33 and a 200 day moving average of $186.53. The company has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.57.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.82 by $0.53. WEX had a return on equity of 31.35% and a net margin of 12.45%. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that WEX Inc. will post 13.1 EPS for the current year.

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.