Allianz Asset Management GmbH Invests $8.85 Million in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE)

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH has invested approximately $8.85 million for a new position of 47,230 shares in Guidewire Software, Inc. during the first quarter of the year.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Massachusetts Financial Services and AQR Capital Management, have significantly increased their stakes in Guidewire Software, indicating growing institutional confidence in the company's prospects.
• Wall Street analysts have notably raised their price targets for Guidewire Software, with estimates now reaching as high as $288, reflecting a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy."

Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 47,230 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $8,849,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.06% of Guidewire Software at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GWRE. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 16.2% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,157,195 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $966,252,000 after acquiring an additional 720,322 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 2,678,857 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $451,602,000 after acquiring an additional 205,382 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,342,771 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $226,701,000 after acquiring an additional 12,697 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 79.4% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 946,158 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $159,503,000 after acquiring an additional 418,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 938,941 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $157,113,000 after acquiring an additional 227,238 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on GWRE. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Guidewire Software from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Guidewire Software from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Guidewire Software from $199.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Guidewire Software from $271.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Guidewire Software from $235.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $250.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Guidewire Software

In related news, President John P. Mullen sold 3,000 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.05, for a total value of $705,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 146,489 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,432,239.45. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.31, for a total value of $311,234.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 231,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,502,113.08. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,342 shares of company stock worth $4,843,857. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

NYSE GWRE opened at $223.53 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $230.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $208.20. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 12-month low of $132.01 and a 12-month high of $263.20. The company has a current ratio of 3.23, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $18.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 558.82, a PEG ratio of 19.81 and a beta of 1.16.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The technology company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.41. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 3.04% and a return on equity of 6.96%. The business had revenue of $293.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $286.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. Guidewire Software's revenue was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Guidewire Software

Guidewire Software, Inc provides a platform for property and casualty (P&C) insurers worldwide. The company offers Guidewire InsuranceSuite Cloud, such as PolicyCenter Cloud, BillingCenter Cloud, and ClaimCenter Cloud applications. It also provides Guidewire InsuranceNow, a cloud-based platform that offers policy, billing, and claims management functionality to insurers; and Guidewire InsuranceSuite for Self-Managed.

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