Bank of Montreal Can Increases Stake in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) by 66.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,689 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,251 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.05% of WEX worth $3,627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WEX. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of WEX by 79.5% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,436 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,347,000 after acquiring an additional 2,851 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in WEX by 38.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 21,535 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,516,000 after purchasing an additional 5,972 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in WEX by 112.4% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,760 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $998,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in WEX in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,507,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in WEX during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.47% of the company's stock.

WEX Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of WEX stock traded down $2.67 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $120.54. The company had a trading volume of 660,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 547,860. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $146.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.04. WEX Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.45 and a fifty-two week high of $235.20. The firm has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.33.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.16. WEX had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 32.35%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WEX Inc. will post 14.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WEX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on WEX from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho lowered their price target on WEX from $215.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of WEX from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $186.00 price objective on shares of WEX in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of WEX from $200.00 to $172.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $187.80.

About WEX

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.