Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Boosts Stake in Guidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake by 112.6%, acquiring an additional 254,142 shares to hold 479,859 shares (about 0.56% of Guidewire) valued at roughly $90.0 million.
• Guidewire beat quarterly expectations with $1.17 EPS vs. $0.77 expected and revenue of $359.1M (+24% y/y), and its board approved a $500 million share repurchase plan (≈3.1% of shares outstanding).
• Company insiders, including President John P. Mullen and CEO Michael G. Rosenbaum, sold shares on March 17; insiders disposed of 30,295 shares worth about $4.82 million over the last 90 days, representing 0.46% insider ownership.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Free Report) by 112.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 479,859 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 254,142 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.56% of Guidewire Software worth $90,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Guidewire Software during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 11.4% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 9,181 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,028,000 after buying an additional 939 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the second quarter worth $24,661,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software in the second quarter valued at about $918,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 17.2% in the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 6,775 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,595,000 after buying an additional 992 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Guidewire Software news, President John P. Mullen sold 6,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total transaction of $1,077,543.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 135,407 shares in the company, valued at $22,187,791.02. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 4,737 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total value of $776,204.82. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,246,815.16. This represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 30,295 shares of company stock worth $4,819,906 over the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Guidewire Software Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of GWRE stock opened at $149.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.05. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $120.37 and a fifty-two week high of $272.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a current ratio of 2.93. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $145.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.78.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.40. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 14.11%.The business had revenue of $359.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $342.88 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Guidewire Software declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 8th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Guidewire Software from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on Guidewire Software from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Guidewire Software presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $249.85.

About Guidewire Software

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.

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