William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 72,498 Shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE

William Blair Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) by 15.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 405,950 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 72,498 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.48% of Guidewire Software worth $93,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWRE. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 3,636.9% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 731,467 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $172,224,000 after acquiring an additional 711,893 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in Guidewire Software by 240.0% in the second quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 850,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $200,132,000 after purchasing an additional 600,000 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 405.1% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 538,303 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $126,743,000 after purchasing an additional 431,725 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the third quarter worth approximately $51,967,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 2.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,922,651 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,100,838,000 after buying an additional 211,047 shares during the period.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

GWRE stock opened at $145.53 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $159.60 and a 200 day moving average of $202.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 3.48 and a quick ratio of 3.48. The company has a market cap of $12.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 138.60, a PEG ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 1.05. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.37 and a 1 year high of $272.60.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The technology company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The firm had revenue of $332.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.62 million. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 7.23%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

Guidewire Software declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, January 8th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Guidewire Software

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 2,872 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.08, for a total transaction of $551,653.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 74,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,252,528.08. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 6,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.08, for a total transaction of $1,155,361.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 240,743 shares in the company, valued at $46,241,915.44. The trade was a 2.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 42,760 shares of company stock worth $7,978,508. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GWRE shares. BTIG Research dropped their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $225.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Guidewire Software from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Guidewire Software from $242.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.92.

Guidewire Software Profile

Guidewire Software, Inc develops software products and cloud services for property and casualty (P&C) insurance carriers. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, the company’s offerings are designed to help insurers manage the core functions of their business—policy administration, billing and claims—while supporting digital engagement, analytics and operational modernization.

Guidewire’s core product portfolio is commonly known as the InsuranceSuite, which includes PolicyCenter for policy administration, BillingCenter for billing and receivables, and ClaimCenter for claims management.