WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,361 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 291 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in WEX were worth $1,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in WEX in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 108.4% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of WEX by 552.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 261 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEX by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 327 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in WEX by 263.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 491 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the period. 97.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEX Stock Performance

WEX opened at $154.69 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $162.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.13. WEX Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.03 and a 52-week high of $244.04. The company has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.61. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.16. WEX had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 32.35%. Equities analysts anticipate that WEX Inc. will post 14.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on WEX. Bank of America downgraded WEX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on WEX from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on WEX from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of WEX in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of WEX from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEX has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $187.80.

WEX 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.