First Trust Advisors LP Has $8.02 Million Holdings in WEX Inc. $WEX

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) by 31.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,542 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in WEX were worth $8,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WEX during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. First Horizon Corp raised its position in shares of WEX by 65.7% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 237 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of WEX by 368.1% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in WEX by 255.0% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 355 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in WEX by 225.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 371 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. 97.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on WEX from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on WEX from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on WEX from $180.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on WEX in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut WEX from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, WEX currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $183.30.

WEX Stock Performance

NYSE WEX opened at $187.04 on Friday. WEX Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.29 and a twelve month high of $191.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. The stock has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.76.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $5.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.08 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $753.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.72 million. WEX had a net margin of 12.56% and a return on equity of 43.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.95 earnings per share. WEX has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.650 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 19.680-20.080 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that WEX Inc. will post 17.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEX announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 14th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 21.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEX news, COO Robert Joseph Deshaies sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.40, for a total value of $296,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 20,288 shares in the company, valued at $3,010,739.20. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.02, for a total value of $598,468.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,406,047.76. This represents a 29.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,783 shares of company stock valued at $1,462,885. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.