Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in WEX Inc. $WEX

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 35,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,601 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in WEX were worth $5,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEX. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in WEX by 282.1% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 214 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in WEX by 161.5% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in WEX in the first quarter worth about $44,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in WEX in the first quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in WEX by 22.1% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 376 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on WEX shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of WEX from $135.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of WEX in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of WEX from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Zacks Research lowered shares of WEX from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of WEX in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $180.91.

Insider Activity at WEX

In other news, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 1,931 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.69, for a total value of $331,533.39. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,252,478.55. The trade was a 20.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Carlos Carriedo sold 875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $150,220.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $904,753.60. This represents a 14.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

WEX Stock Performance

NYSE WEX opened at $150.49 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $167.32 and its 200-day moving average is $150.08. WEX Inc. has a 12-month low of $110.45 and a 12-month high of $217.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.99. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.26.

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.