First Trust Advisors LP Trims Stock Position in Guidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its stake in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Free Report) by 49.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,830 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 40,207 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Guidewire Software were worth $6,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Guidewire Software in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,405,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Guidewire Software by 547.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,180,334 shares of the technology company's stock worth $176,537,000 after purchasing an additional 997,992 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 405.1% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 538,303 shares of the technology company's stock worth $126,743,000 after purchasing an additional 431,725 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,445,206 shares of the technology company's stock worth $290,501,000 after purchasing an additional 405,850 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 179.0% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 628,759 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $94,037,000 after purchasing an additional 403,370 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Guidewire Software

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 2,594 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.74, for a total transaction of $308,011.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 63,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,536,071.58. The trade was a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, President John P. Mullen sold 4,292 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.74, for a total transaction of $509,632.08. Following the sale, the president directly owned 131,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,568,595.10. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 28,993 shares of company stock valued at $3,627,630. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Guidewire Software Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE GWRE opened at $152.06 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $134.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a current ratio of 2.44. The company has a market cap of $12.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.20 and a beta of 0.92. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a one year low of $102.30 and a one year high of $272.60.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The technology company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.08. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 12.62%. The company had revenue of $372.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $355.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 26.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GWRE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $255.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Guidewire Software from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $258.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on Guidewire Software from $246.00 to $222.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Guidewire Software currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $221.00.

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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