Parnassus Investments LLC Reduces Position in Guidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE

Key Points

• Parnassus Investments LLC has decreased its stake in Guidewire Software by 26.3%, selling 131,486 shares and retaining ownership of 368,125 shares, valued at approximately $68.97 million.
• Several hedge funds, including ANB Bank and Brooklyn Investment Group, have increased their positions in Guidewire Software, with notable boosts of 3.5% and 38.3% respectively.
• Guidewire Software recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.88, significantly above analysts' estimates, and has received multiple upgrades from analysts, including a target price increase from $235 to $270 from Goldman Sachs.

Parnassus Investments LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Free Report) by 26.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 368,125 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 131,486 shares during the quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC owned about 0.44% of Guidewire Software worth $68,972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Guidewire Software by 3.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,711,604 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,632,206,000 after acquiring an additional 256,070 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,157,195 shares of the technology company's stock worth $966,252,000 after purchasing an additional 720,322 shares during the last quarter. Linonia Partnership LP boosted its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 41.8% during the 1st quarter. Linonia Partnership LP now owns 3,396,310 shares of the technology company's stock worth $636,333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,709 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 205,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 1.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,672,767 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $313,410,000 after purchasing an additional 24,991 shares during the last quarter.

Guidewire Software Stock Up 0.2%

GWRE stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $217.43. The company had a trading volume of 618,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 945,360. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.94 and a fifty-two week high of $263.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a current ratio of 3.23. The company has a market capitalization of $18.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 543.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.30 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Guidewire Software

In other Guidewire Software news, President John P. Mullen sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.05, for a total transaction of $705,150.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider James Winston King sold 2,482 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.65, for a total transaction of $547,653.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 37,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,261,356.65. The trade was a 6.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,541 shares of company stock worth $6,037,939 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GWRE shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Guidewire Software from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Guidewire Software from $230.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $226.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $235.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $258.08.

Guidewire Software Profile

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.