Insider Selling: WEX (NYSE:WEX) Insider Sells $391,695.29 in Stock

WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) insider Karen Stroup sold 2,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.93, for a total transaction of $391,695.29. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,662,614.76. This trade represents a 9.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

WEX Price Performance

Shares of WEX traded down $2.55 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $179.74. The company had a trading volume of 590,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 580,810. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00. WEX Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.29 and a 12-month high of $203.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.48. The company has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.93.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $6.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.68 by $0.45. WEX had a net margin of 14.05% and a return on equity of 45.74%. The company had revenue of $780.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $749.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that WEX Inc. will post 18.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEX

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEX. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEX in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEX during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of WEX during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new position in shares of WEX during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of WEX by 97.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 267 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WEX shares. Mizuho upped their price target on WEX from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on WEX from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of WEX in a report on Thursday, September 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on WEX from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised WEX from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.10.

WEX Company Profile

WEX Inc. is a financial technology company that provides payment processing and business management solutions. Founded in 1983 as Wright Express, the company adopted the WEX name in 2012 and is headquartered in Portland, Maine. WEX’s fleet business offers payment cards and related services for commercial and government fleets, including tools to manage fuel purchases, vehicle expenses and fleet operations. Its travel and corporate payments business provides solutions such as virtual cards and payment services for travel companies and other businesses.