Raymond James Financial Inc. Cuts Stake in WEX Inc. $WEX

Raymond James Financial Inc. cut its stake in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,379 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,599 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.20% of WEX worth $10,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WEX. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of WEX by 1,684.2% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 201,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,401,000 after acquiring an additional 190,605 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC increased its holdings in WEX by 113.0% during the 4th quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 318,272 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $55,799,000 after purchasing an additional 168,832 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in WEX by 5,562.2% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 151,125 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,117,000 after purchasing an additional 148,456 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in WEX during the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,783,000. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in WEX during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,677,000. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEX Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEX opened at $171.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.99. WEX Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.45 and a fifty-two week high of $217.47. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.12. The company has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of 21.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.28.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEX

In other WEX news, COO Carlos Carriedo sold 875 shares of WEX stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $150,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,270 shares in the company, valued at $904,753.60. The trade was a 14.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Kimball sold 1,400 shares of WEX stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.08, for a total value of $183,512.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $416,441.16. The trade was a 30.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,206 shares of company stock worth $665,265 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on WEX from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of WEX in a report on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on WEX from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on WEX from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on WEX from $138.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $179.82.

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.