Arizona State Retirement System Lowers Stake in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Arizona State Retirement System cut its position in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,924 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 141 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in WEX were worth $2,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEX by 206.1% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in WEX during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in WEX by 108.4% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 248 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of WEX by 552.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 261 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEX Price Performance

NYSE WEX opened at $156.48 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $168.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.71. WEX Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.03 and a 52 week high of $244.04. The stock has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.61. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.16. WEX had a return on equity of 32.35% and a net margin of 11.78%. Analysts forecast that WEX Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WEX. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on WEX from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of WEX in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho decreased their price target on WEX from $215.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of WEX from $200.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Ten 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.