Man Group plc Invests $8.96 Million in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 51,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,960,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WEX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of WEX by 105.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,046,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $358,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052,087 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of WEX during the fourth quarter worth approximately $80,535,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of WEX by 1,684.2% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 201,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,401,000 after purchasing an additional 190,605 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of WEX by 113.0% during the fourth quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 318,272 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $55,799,000 after purchasing an additional 168,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEX during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,689,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

WEX Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of WEX stock opened at $139.50 on Monday. WEX Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.45 and a fifty-two week high of $217.47. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.45. 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 (NYSE:WEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.11. WEX had a return on equity of 32.35% and a net margin of 11.78%. The business had revenue of $636.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $631.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that WEX Inc. will post 14.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on WEX from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on WEX from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on WEX from $172.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho cut their price objective on WEX from $215.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on WEX from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEX presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $182.40.

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.