Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 2,252 Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE)

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. acquired 2,252 shares of Guidewire Software, Inc., valued at approximately $422,000, in the first quarter.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their holdings in Guidewire Software, with ANB Bank raising its stake by 3.5% and MassMutual Private Wealth increasing its stake by 70% in the same period.
• Wall Street analysts showed optimism with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price averaging $250.92 for Guidewire Software shares.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,252 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $422,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GWRE. ANB Bank lifted its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. ANB Bank now owns 1,590 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 70.0% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 170 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 16.4% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 569 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 677 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 101.0% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 197 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GWRE shares. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Guidewire Software from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Guidewire Software from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Guidewire Software from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Guidewire Software from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Guidewire Software presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $250.92.

Guidewire Software Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE GWRE traded down $3.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $222.88. 530,494 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 600,028. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.01 and a 52 week high of $263.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $231.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.07. The stock has a market cap of $18.76 billion, a PE ratio of 557.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 19.76 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider James Winston King sold 2,482 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.65, for a total transaction of $547,653.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 37,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,261,356.65. This represents a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President John P. Mullen sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.05, for a total value of $705,150.00. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 146,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,432,239.45. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,342 shares of company stock valued at $4,879,599 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

About Guidewire Software

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.