Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC cut its position in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 99.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 348 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 40,522 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in WEX were worth $61,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEX. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in WEX during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,167,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of WEX during the fourth quarter worth $614,000. Choreo LLC raised its position in shares of WEX by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,373 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. Level Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEX in the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in WEX by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 11,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,959,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

WEX Stock Performance

NYSE:WEX opened at $157.73 on Thursday. WEX Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.03 and a fifty-two week high of $244.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $170.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.58.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.16. WEX had a return on equity of 32.35% and a net margin of 11.78%. Equities research analysts forecast that WEX Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,334.08. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of WEX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of WEX in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on WEX from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of WEX from $215.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $199.73.

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.