HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,619 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in WEX were worth $1,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WEX. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in shares of WEX by 1.7% during the third 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. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in WEX by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEX by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 327 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of WEX by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 11,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,959,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of WEX by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 1,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEX Stock Down 2.3 %

WEX stock opened at $153.93 on Wednesday. WEX Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.03 and a twelve month high of $244.04. The stock has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.61. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $163.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.16. WEX had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 32.35%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that WEX Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on WEX. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of WEX in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of WEX from $215.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of WEX from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America downgraded shares of WEX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on WEX from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.73.

About WEX

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.