Ariel Investments LLC Sells 11,161 Shares of WEX Inc. $WEX

Ariel Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 401,086 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 11,161 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC owned 1.17% of WEX worth $58,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in WEX by 282.1% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 214 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of WEX during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of WEX during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of WEX in the second quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in WEX by 22.1% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 376 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEX

In other news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 1,506 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.62, for a total transaction of $225,327.72. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 15,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,348,884.38. This trade represents a 8.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Stephen Montgomery Smith acquired 1,000 shares of WEX stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $144.25 per share, with a total value of $144,250.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 7,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,149,816.75. This represents a 14.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on WEX shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of WEX from $185.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of WEX in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America upgraded WEX from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $178.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Zacks Research cut WEX from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on WEX from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.92.

WEX Price Performance

WEX opened at $150.19 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $150.17 and a 200 day moving average of $155.34. WEX Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.45 and a 52-week high of $188.70. The stock has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.03.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $4.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.14. WEX had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 45.10%. The firm had revenue of $691.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $678.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. WEX has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 3.760-3.960 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 15.760-15.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WEX Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current year.

WEX 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.