Horizon Investments LLC Sells 11,511 Shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE

Key Points

• Horizon Investments cut its stake in Guidewire by 63.4%, selling 11,511 shares and leaving 6,632 shares valued at about $1.33 million at quarter-end.
• Company insiders sold 31,279 shares (~$4.84 million) last quarter — including recent sales by the CFO and CEO — leaving insiders with just 0.46% ownership.
• Guidewire beat expectations (Q: $1.17 EPS vs $0.77 est., revenue $359.1M, +24% YoY) and the board authorized a $500M buyback

Horizon Investments LLC lowered its stake in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Free Report) by 63.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,632 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 11,511 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in Guidewire Software were worth $1,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Guidewire Software by 4,507.8% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 318,675 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $64,057,000 after buying an additional 311,759 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Guidewire Software by 112.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 479,859 shares of the technology company's stock worth $90,036,000 after buying an additional 254,142 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 34.4% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 982,747 shares of the technology company's stock worth $225,894,000 after acquiring an additional 251,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 18.9% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,271,528 shares of the technology company's stock worth $292,146,000 after purchasing an additional 202,064 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Guidewire Software

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 4,757 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.72, for a total transaction of $755,031.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 67,996 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,792,325.12. This trade represents a 6.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 4,737 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total transaction of $776,204.82. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 221,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,246,815.16. The trade was a 2.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 31,279 shares of company stock worth $4,843,478 in the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on GWRE. Zacks Research raised shares of Guidewire Software from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Guidewire Software from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $249.85.

Guidewire Software Trading Down 5.9%

Shares of GWRE stock opened at $131.77 on Thursday. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.57 and a 52-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 simple moving average of $145.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.88. The company has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.90 and a beta of 0.91.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $359.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $342.88 million. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 14.11% and a return on equity of 13.44%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Guidewire Software declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 8th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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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