B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Makes New Investment in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 17,799 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,733,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEX. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in WEX by 206.1% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in WEX in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in WEX by 233.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 187 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of WEX by 717.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 188 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WEX by 456.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 228 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WEX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on WEX from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of WEX from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of WEX from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of WEX from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, William Blair raised shares of WEX to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEX

In related news, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 508 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $101,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 7,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,000. This represents a 6.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

WEX Stock Up 1.1 %

WEX stock opened at $180.31 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. WEX Inc. has a 1-year low of $165.51 and a 1-year high of $244.04. The company has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.57.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.82 by $0.53. WEX had a return on equity of 31.35% and a net margin of 12.45%. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $688.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.44 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that WEX Inc. will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEX Company 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.