First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Boosts Stock Position in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in WEX were worth $330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WEX. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in WEX by 44.7% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 51,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,214,000 after buying an additional 15,884 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEX in the first quarter valued at about $279,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of WEX by 139.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 27,811 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,606,000 after acquiring an additional 16,207 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in WEX during the first quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in WEX in the first quarter valued at about $652,000. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 1,651 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.67, for a total transaction of $299,937.17. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,409,214.19. This trade 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 WEX news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 1,651 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.67, for a total transaction of $299,937.17. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,409,214.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 7,120 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

WEX Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEX opened at $172.05 on Tuesday. WEX Inc. has a one year low of $165.51 and a one year high of $244.04. The stock has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $198.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.82 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.03 million. WEX had a return on equity of 31.35% and a net margin of 12.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.44 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that WEX Inc. will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WEX. William Blair upgraded WEX to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on WEX from $275.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on WEX from $238.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research cut shares of WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of WEX from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.91.

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.