WEX Inc. $WEX Shares Sold by New South Capital Management Inc.

New South Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 34.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 293,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 151,469 shares during the quarter. WEX makes up approximately 3.4% of New South Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. New South Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.89% of WEX worth $49,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEX. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in WEX by 1.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,916,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $599,313,000 after purchasing an additional 44,031 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEX during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $559,710,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WEX during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $446,833,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of WEX by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 823,681 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $126,056,000 after buying an additional 98,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 58.5% in the 1st quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 669,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $102,435,000 after buying an additional 246,923 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

WEX Stock Up 1.0%

WEX opened at $182.26 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.93. WEX Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.29 and a 52 week high of $203.99. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.48.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $6.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.68 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $780.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $749.74 million. WEX had a return on equity of 45.74% and a net margin of 14.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that WEX Inc. will post 18.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at WEX

In other news, COO Joel Alan Dearborn, Jr. sold 3,343 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $668,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 17,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,404,200. This represents a 16.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Melissa D. Smith sold 28,109 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.09, for a total transaction of $5,343,239.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 126,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,070,146.25. This represents a 18.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 271,902 shares of company stock worth $49,636,650 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of WEX from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of WEX from $172.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Deutsche Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of WEX in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised WEX from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.10.

About WEX

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.