WEX Inc. $WEX Position Increased by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 28.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,222 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 709 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in WEX were worth $473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in WEX by 1.0% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 59,053 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,272,000 after buying an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of WEX by 399.9% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 210,707 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,085,000 after purchasing an additional 168,558 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of WEX by 88.5% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 4,695 shares in the last quarter. Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of WEX in the first quarter worth approximately $389,000. Finally, Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of WEX by 47.2% in the second quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,739 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,482 shares in the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at WEX

In other WEX news, COO Carlos Carriedo sold 875 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $150,220.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 5,270 shares in the company, valued at $904,753.60. This trade represents a 14.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 1,931 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.69, for a total value of $331,533.39. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,252,478.55. This trade represents a 20.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

WEX Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE:WEX opened at $153.01 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $165.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.06. WEX Inc. has a 52 week low of $110.45 and a 52 week high of $217.47. The company has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WEX shares. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of WEX from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of WEX from $138.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of WEX from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of WEX from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of WEX from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEX currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.50.

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.