HM Payson & Co. Has $31.32 Million Stake in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 61.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 149,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,775 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in WEX were worth $31,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEX. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in WEX by 96.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,596 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,804,000 after acquiring an additional 3,722 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in WEX by 44.7% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 51,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,214,000 after acquiring an additional 15,884 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in WEX by 1.9% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,475 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,488,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in WEX in the first quarter valued at $279,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in WEX by 139.7% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 27,811 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,606,000 after acquiring an additional 16,207 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

WEX Price Performance

WEX stock traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $174.86. The stock had a trading volume of 22,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 354,939. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.97 and a 52 week high of $244.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.08.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $688.03 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that WEX Inc. will post 13.65 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of WEX from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. William Blair raised shares of WEX to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of WEX from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of WEX from $238.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of WEX from $275.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.91.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 1,651 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.67, for a total value of $299,937.17. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,409,214.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 1,182 shares of WEX stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $204,166.86. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,584 shares in the company, valued at $964,524.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 1,651 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.67, for a total transaction of $299,937.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,757 shares in the company, valued at $1,409,214.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,341 shares of company stock worth $605,704. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.