Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stock Position in Guidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE

Key Points

• Franklin Resources raised its stake in Guidewire by 9.7% in Q3 to 856,487 shares (about 1.01% of the company), valued at roughly $196.9 million.
• Guidewire beat Q3 expectations (EPS $1.17 vs. $0.77 est., revenue $359.1M, +24% Y/Y) and its board authorized a $500 million share buyback (up to ~3.1% of shares), while analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $249.85.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Free Report) by 9.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 856,487 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 75,955 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.01% of Guidewire Software worth $196,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Guidewire Software by 57.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 51,694 shares of the technology company's stock worth $11,735,000 after purchasing an additional 18,774 shares during the period. Scalar Gauge Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,287,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 3.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 520,390 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $119,617,000 after buying an additional 17,104 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 901.1% during the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 9,110 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,094,000 after buying an additional 8,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software in the third quarter worth approximately $51,967,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GWRE shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Guidewire Software from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Zacks Research lowered Guidewire Software from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Eleven equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $249.85.

Guidewire Software Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE GWRE opened at $157.59 on Friday. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.37 and a 52-week high of $272.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.63, a PEG ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $151.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $199.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a current ratio of 2.93.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $359.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $342.88 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. Guidewire Software's quarterly revenue was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Guidewire Software declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, January 8th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding 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 an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Guidewire Software

In other Guidewire Software news, President John P. Mullen sold 7,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.08, for a total transaction of $1,531,838.00. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 141,983 shares in the company, valued at $27,272,094.64. This represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 6,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.08, for a total transaction of $1,155,361.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 240,743 shares in the company, valued at $46,241,915.44. This trade represents a 2.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,560 shares of company stock worth $7,882,898. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.

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