Burney Co. Reduces Stock Position in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Burney Co. reduced its holdings in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 92.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,264 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 15,263 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in WEX were worth $222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake 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 purchased a new position in shares of WEX during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of WEX by 717.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 188 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of WEX by 47.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 277 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of WEX during the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. 97.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEX Stock Up 0.4 %

WEX stock opened at $184.40 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.07. The company has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. WEX Inc. has a 12 month low of $165.51 and a 12 month high of $244.04.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.82 by $0.53. WEX had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 31.35%. The firm had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.44 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that WEX Inc. will post 13.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WEX. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of WEX from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of WEX from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $207.00) on shares of WEX in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of WEX from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of WEX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.44, for a total transaction of $33,152.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,334.08. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.