293,141 Guidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE Shares Sold by William Blair Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management cut its Guidewire stake by 48.1%, selling 293,141 shares in the third quarter. It retained 316,279 shares, valued at about $45.1 million at quarter-end.
• Guidewire reported quarterly EPS of $0.99, above the $0.93 consensus, and revenue of $411.1 million, up 15.3% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $213.29; 12 analysts rated the stock Buy and five Hold.

William Blair Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Free Report) by 48.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 316,279 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 293,141 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.38% of Guidewire Software worth $45,095,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in Guidewire Software in the second quarter valued at $1,106,768,000. Linonia Partnership LP acquired a new position in shares of Guidewire Software during the 2nd quarter worth about $853,165,000. Route One Investment Company L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the 2nd quarter valued at about $227,564,000. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the 2nd quarter valued at about $149,611,000. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 867,117 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $106,699,000 after acquiring an additional 65,628 shares during the last quarter.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

Shares of Guidewire Software stock traded down $1.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $158.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 421,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,054,207. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $159.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.27. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.30 and a fifty-two week high of $229.85. The firm has a market cap of $13.08 billion, a PE ratio of 97.09 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 3rd. The technology company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.06. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The company had revenue of $411.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $402.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. Guidewire Software's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Guidewire Software news, CEO Michael Rosenbaum sold 1,200 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total value of $191,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,294,053.60. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider James King sold 9,187 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total value of $1,543,416.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,942,328. The trade was a 20.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 209,135 shares of company stock valued at $31,764,329. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on GWRE shares. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $222.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $175.00 price objective for the company. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $213.29.

Guidewire Software Profile

Guidewire Software develops software for property and casualty insurance companies. Its products support core insurance operations, including policy administration, billing and claims management, as well as data analytics and digital customer services. The company offers its applications through Guidewire Cloud and provides related implementation and support services. Its platform includes products such as PolicyCenter, BillingCenter and ClaimCenter, designed to help insurers manage workflows and modernize their technology systems.

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