Hancock Whitney Corp Decreases Stock Position in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX)

Hancock Whitney Corp lessened its position in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,479 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 68 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in WEX were worth $520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WEX. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in WEX by 206.1% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEX in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quarry LP lifted 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in WEX by 456.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 228 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in WEX by 47.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 277 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WEX shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on WEX from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on WEX from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of WEX from $238.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of WEX from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of WEX from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEX

In related news, CFO Jagtar Narula sold 508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $101,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 7,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,424,000. This trade represents a 6.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

WEX Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WEX opened at $185.94 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $195.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.66. WEX Inc. has a 52-week low of $165.51 and a 52-week high of $244.04.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $4.35 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $665.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that WEX Inc. will post 13.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.