HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 849 Shares of WEX Inc. $WEX

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 12.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,770 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 849 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in WEX were worth $906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its position in WEX by 5.4% during the first quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in WEX by 2.9% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc lifted its position in WEX by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc now owns 19,657 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,446,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in WEX during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEX by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,356 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WEX Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:WEX opened at $173.33 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $160.96 and a 200 day moving average of $147.91. WEX Inc. has a 52 week low of $110.45 and a 52 week high of $217.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WEX. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of WEX from $138.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of WEX in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of WEX from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of WEX from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of WEX in a report on Friday, July 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEX presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $179.82.

Insider Activity at WEX

In related news, CAO Jennifer Kimball sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.08, for a total transaction of $183,512.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,177 shares in the company, valued at $416,441.16. This represents a 30.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 1,931 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.69, for a total transaction of $331,533.39. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,252,478.55. This represents a 20.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,206 shares of company stock worth $665,265 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.