Lazard Asset Management LLC Purchases 5,959 Shares of WEX Inc. $WEX

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 45.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,057 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,959 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in WEX were worth $2,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC lifted its position in WEX by 377.9% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 17,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,592,000 after buying an additional 13,755 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in WEX during the fourth quarter worth about $28,129,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in WEX by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 29,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,351,000 after acquiring an additional 9,410 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in WEX by 2,115.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,185,000 after purchasing an additional 14,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of WEX by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 638,957 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $95,209,000 after purchasing an additional 6,971 shares during the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jennifer Kimball sold 1,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.55, for a total transaction of $208,858.65. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,919.80. This represents a 19.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James R. Groch acquired 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $142.95 per share, with a total value of $214,425.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 17,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,566,953.15. This represents a 9.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,783 shares of company stock valued at $1,462,885. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WEX Stock Up 0.3%

WEX stock opened at $187.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $150.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.76. WEX Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.29 and a fifty-two week high of $191.38.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $5.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.08 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $753.50 million during 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 was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.95 EPS. WEX has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.650 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 19.680-20.080 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WEX Inc. will post 17.12 earnings per share for the current year.

WEX announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 14th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in 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 generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WEX. Loop Capital began coverage on WEX in a report on Monday, April 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of WEX from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of WEX from $161.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Evercore raised shares of WEX to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of WEX from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $183.30.

About WEX

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.