World Investment Advisors LLC Invests $2.51 Million in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 11,955 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,507,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WEX. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in WEX by 206.1% in the third 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 last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in WEX in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Quarry LP increased its position in WEX by 717.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 188 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased 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 worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of WEX by 47.3% in the third 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on WEX. Wolfe Research cut WEX from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on 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 upped their price target on shares of WEX from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 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, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of WEX from $238.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.91.

Insider Transactions at WEX

In related news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.44, for a total value of $33,152.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,582 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,334.08. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

WEX Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of WEX stock traded down $1.91 during trading on Friday, reaching $176.20. 554,703 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 327,360. WEX Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.51 and a 1 year high of $244.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The stock's fifty day moving average is $189.33 and its 200 day moving average is $186.50. The firm has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.57.

WEX (NYSE:WEX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.82 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.03 million. WEX had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 31.35%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that WEX Inc. will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.