Handelsbanken Fonder AB Reduces Position in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its holdings in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 46.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 68,500 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.20% of WEX worth $14,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of WEX by 206.1% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of WEX in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of WEX by 552.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 261 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of WEX by 47.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 277 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of WEX in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

WEX Price Performance

Shares of WEX opened at $150.48 on Friday. WEX Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.03 and a twelve month high of $244.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts forecast that WEX Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WEX. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of WEX from $200.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of WEX from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wolfe Research cut shares of WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of WEX in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEX presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $199.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.44, for a total value of $33,152.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,334.08. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.