Fifth Third Bancorp Has $1.54 Million Stock Holdings in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) by 1,635.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,783 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,277 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in WEX were worth $1,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WEX. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in shares of WEX by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 3,624 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in WEX by 40.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 301 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in WEX by 47.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 277 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of WEX by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,292 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of WEX from $238.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research lowered WEX from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on WEX from $247.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on WEX from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down from $207.00) on shares of WEX in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEX presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $217.73.

WEX Stock Performance

WEX stock traded down $2.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $184.18. 338,245 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 326,879. WEX Inc. has a twelve month low of $165.51 and a twelve month high of $244.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.44, for a total transaction of $33,152.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,436,334.08. This trade represents a 2.26 % 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 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.