Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) Shares Sold by Rathbones Group PLC

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC reduced its stake in Guidewire Software by 0.4% in the first quarter, maintaining ownership of 343,245 shares, valued at approximately $64.3 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their holdings in Guidewire, with Principal Financial Group Inc. boosting its stake by an impressive 3,320.4%.
• Analysts have a positive outlook on the company, with many raising their target prices and rating it as a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $250.92.

Rathbones Group PLC decreased its position in shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Free Report) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 343,245 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,504 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC owned 0.41% of Guidewire Software worth $64,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 720,322 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 70.4% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,427,104 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $267,382,000 after purchasing an additional 589,424 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the first quarter valued at $85,453,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 242.2% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 555,892 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $93,683,000 after purchasing an additional 393,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 877.7% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 367,445 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $61,944,000 after purchasing an additional 329,863 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $199.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $250.92.

Guidewire Software Stock Up 1.3%

Guidewire Software stock traded up $2.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $211.64. 666,784 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 594,280. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a current ratio of 3.23. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.94 and a 12 month high of $263.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $229.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.57. The company has a market cap of $17.82 billion, a PE ratio of 529.10, a P/E/G ratio of 14.73 and a beta of 1.16.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The technology company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $293.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $286.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Guidewire Software news, insider James Winston King sold 2,482 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.65, for a total value of $547,653.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 37,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,261,356.65. The trade was a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.50, for a total transaction of $359,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 245,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at $63,097,204.50. This represents a 0.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,742 shares of company stock worth $5,870,207. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.