Ieq Capital LLC Makes New $2.57 Million Investment in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 14,657 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,570,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WEX. Peregrine Capital Management LLC grew its position in WEX by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 48,304 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,469,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEX by 390.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 735 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of WEX by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in WEX by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 7,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in WEX by 240.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,007 shares during the period. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was 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 directly owns 7,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,334.08. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

WEX Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE WEX opened at $150.48 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.03 and a 12 month high of $244.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $172.05 and its 200 day moving average is $184.13. The stock has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.58.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last issued its 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%. Research analysts predict that WEX Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WEX shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of WEX from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America cut shares of WEX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wolfe Research cut shares of WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup lowered WEX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of WEX in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $199.73.

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.