WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) Stock Holdings Increased by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,535 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,972 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.05% of WEX worth $4,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in WEX by 206.1% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEX in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in WEX by 717.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 188 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in WEX by 456.1% during 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. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in WEX by 47.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 277 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEX Price Performance

Shares of WEX traded up $1.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $169.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,010,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 363,215. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $185.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.07. WEX Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $165.51 and a fifty-two week high of $244.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.57.

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

Insider Transactions at WEX

In other news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.44, for a total transaction of $33,152.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,582 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,334.08. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on WEX from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $200.00 target price (down previously from $207.00) on shares of WEX in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on WEX from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America raised their price target on WEX from $238.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of WEX from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WEX presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.64.

WEX 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.