Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Holdings in WEX Inc. $WEX

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 82.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,791 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in WEX were worth $2,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Partners purchased a new position in WEX in the second quarter worth $187,102,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in WEX by 1.7% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,085,795 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $159,494,000 after purchasing an additional 17,691 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 809,658 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $118,931,000 after purchasing an additional 75,003 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 797,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $117,199,000 after purchasing an additional 137,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of WEX by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 485,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,314,000 after buying an additional 4,077 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at WEX

In related news, CAO Jennifer Kimball sold 494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.40, for a total value of $74,791.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $555,789.40. This trade represents a 11.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 1,032 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $171,312.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 15,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,606,034. The trade was a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,032 shares of company stock valued at $471,431. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

WEX Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of WEX opened at $157.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.98. WEX Inc. has a twelve month low of $110.45 and a twelve month high of $180.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.58.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The business services provider reported $4.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.90 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $672.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $660.89 million. WEX had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 48.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.57 earnings per share. WEX has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.250-17.850 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 3.80-4.000 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that WEX Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on WEX shares. Morgan Stanley set a $146.00 target price on WEX in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Bank of America upgraded shares of WEX from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $178.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. UBS Group set a $165.00 target price on shares of WEX and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of WEX from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on WEX from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEX presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.27.

WEX Profile

WEX Inc is a global financial technology company specializing in business payment solutions for fleet, travel, and corporate payments. The company delivers software-driven platforms and card-based services that help businesses automate payment processes, manage expenses and improve operational efficiency across a range of industries, including transportation, healthcare and government.

Founded in 1983 as Wright Express in Portland, Maine, the company began by offering fuel card services to trucking fleets.