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

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its stake in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 46.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. 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’s holdings in WEX were worth $14,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WEX. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its position in WEX by 672.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 154,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,305,000 after purchasing an additional 134,099 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in WEX by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,555,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $326,237,000 after purchasing an additional 125,262 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in WEX by 328.6% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 127,570 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,755,000 after purchasing an additional 97,807 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in WEX by 82.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 175,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,847,000 after purchasing an additional 79,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. grew its position in WEX by 61.3% during the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 149,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,321,000 after purchasing an additional 56,775 shares during the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEX Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE WEX opened at $150.48 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.03 and a 52 week high of $244.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $172.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.58.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.16. WEX had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 32.35%. Equities research analysts anticipate that WEX Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on WEX shares. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of WEX from $215.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of WEX in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of WEX from $200.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of WEX from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEX news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of WEX 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 owns 7,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,334.08. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WEX Company 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.