Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Buys 10,625 Shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 290.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,625 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in WEX were worth $2,995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WEX. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEX by 672.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 154,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,305,000 after purchasing an additional 134,099 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of WEX by 34.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 495,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $87,772,000 after buying an additional 126,663 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of WEX by 328.6% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 127,570 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,755,000 after buying an additional 97,807 shares during the period. Distillate Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEX in the second quarter worth approximately $13,950,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. raised its holdings in shares of WEX by 61.3% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 149,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,321,000 after buying an additional 56,775 shares during the period. 97.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WEX Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WEX opened at $179.18 on Friday. WEX Inc. has a 12-month low of $165.51 and a 12-month high of $244.04. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $197.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.15. The company has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.82 by $0.53. WEX had a return on equity of 31.35% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.03 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that WEX Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on WEX from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on WEX from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. William Blair upgraded WEX to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wolfe Research downgraded WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on WEX from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.91.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 1,651 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.67, for a total value of $299,937.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,409,214.19. This trade represents a 17.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,424,000. The trade was a 6.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.