WEX (NYSE:WEX) CEO Melissa Smith Sells 28,109 Shares of Stock

WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX) CEO Melissa Smith sold 28,109 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.09, for a total transaction of $5,343,239.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 126,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,070,146.25. The trade was a 18.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

WEX Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEX traded up $1.86 during trading on Thursday, hitting $194.70. 376,625 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 575,487. WEX Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.29 and a 1-year high of $203.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $174.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.56.

WEX (NYSE:WEX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $5.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.08 by $0.27. WEX had a net margin of 12.56% and a return on equity of 43.19%. The business had revenue of $753.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $740.72 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. WEX has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.650 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 19.680-20.080 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that WEX Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEX declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 21.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEX

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEX in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of WEX in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in WEX by 368.1% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of WEX during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in WEX by 255.0% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 355 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of WEX from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of WEX from $161.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of WEX from $180.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of WEX from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered WEX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $183.30.

About WEX

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.