Legal & General Group Plc Takes Position in WEX Inc. $WEX

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 43,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,091,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in WEX by 158.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 350,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,097,000 after purchasing an additional 215,036 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEX in the 1st quarter worth approximately $394,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of WEX by 4,837.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 395 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in WEX during the 2nd quarter valued at $271,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at WEX

In other WEX news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.40, for a total value of $296,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 20,288 shares in the company, valued at $3,010,739.20. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Carlos Carriedo sold 1,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.00, for a total transaction of $199,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 11,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,060,136. This trade represents a 8.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,489,027 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WEX Stock Up 2.4%

NYSE:WEX opened at $193.21 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.83. WEX Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.29 and a twelve month high of $203.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.56.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $5.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.08 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $753.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.72 million. WEX had a net margin of 12.56% and a return on equity of 43.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.95 earnings per share. WEX has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.650 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 19.680-20.080 EPS. Analysts anticipate that WEX Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

WEX declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 14th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 21.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WEX. Mizuho raised their price target on WEX from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of WEX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of WEX from $161.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Evercore raised shares of WEX to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of WEX from $180.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $183.30.

WEX Profile

WEX Inc is a global financial technology company specializing in business payment solutions for fleet, travel, and corporate payments. The company delivers software-driven platforms and card-based services that help businesses automate payment processes, manage expenses and improve operational efficiency across a range of industries, including transportation, healthcare and government.

Founded in 1983 as Wright Express in Portland, Maine, the company began by offering fuel card services to trucking fleets.