River Road Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 720,465 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 34,264 shares during the quarter. WEX comprises about 2.0% of River Road Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. River Road Asset Management LLC owned 1.81% of WEX worth $151,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WEX during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings 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. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of WEX by 233.9% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 187 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in WEX during the first quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WEX Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WEX traded up $1.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $173.51. The stock had a trading volume of 351,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 357,560. The company has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.57. WEX Inc. has a 12-month low of $165.51 and a 12-month high of $244.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $198.63 and a 200-day moving average of $191.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.82 by $0.53. WEX had a return on equity of 31.35% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.44 EPS. WEX's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that WEX Inc. will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of WEX from $275.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on WEX from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. William Blair raised WEX to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on WEX from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of WEX from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Six 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $101,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 7,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 508 shares of WEX stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 7,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,424,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 1,651 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.67, for a total value of $299,937.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,757 shares in the company, valued at $1,409,214.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.