WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) Shares Acquired by Venturi Wealth Management LLC

Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 390.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 735 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in WEX were worth $129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEX. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in WEX by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,163,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $873,251,000 after acquiring an additional 25,365 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in WEX by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,555,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $326,237,000 after acquiring an additional 125,262 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in WEX by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,240,953 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $260,265,000 after acquiring an additional 3,882 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in WEX by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 720,465 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $151,103,000 after acquiring an additional 34,264 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in WEX by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 308,065 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,611,000 after acquiring an additional 16,739 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at WEX

In other news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.44, for a total value of $33,152.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,582 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,334.08. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WEX Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of WEX stock opened at $150.48 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $172.05 and its 200-day moving average is $184.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.58. 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 12-month low of $146.03 and a 12-month high of $244.04.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that WEX Inc. will post 14.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on WEX from $200.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on WEX from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on WEX from $200.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. 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 research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of WEX in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $199.73.

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.