Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 86,139 Shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE

Key Points

• Vanguard Group trimmed its position by 1.0%, selling 86,139 shares and now holds 8,953,238 shares (about 10.53% of Guidewire) valued at roughly $1.80 billion.
• Guidewire beat expectations with Q results—EPS $1.17 vs. $0.77 estimate and revenue $359.1M (up 24% YoY)—and its board authorized a $500 million share repurchase program (up to ~3.1% of shares).
• Company insiders sold 31,279 shares worth $4.84M over the last quarter (including the CFO and president), leaving insiders with about 0.46% ownership.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,953,238 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 86,139 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.53% of Guidewire Software worth $1,799,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GWRE. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the first quarter worth $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the third quarter worth $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the third quarter worth $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 620.0% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the technology company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the third quarter worth $35,000.

Insider Activity at Guidewire Software

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 4,757 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.72, for a total value of $755,031.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 67,996 shares in the company, valued at $10,792,325.12. The trade was a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President John P. Mullen sold 6,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total transaction of $1,077,543.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 135,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,187,791.02. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 31,279 shares of company stock worth $4,841,198 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

GWRE stock opened at $139.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $11.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.34, a PEG ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.93, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.57 and a 12-month high of $272.60. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $145.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.55.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $359.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $342.88 million. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 14.11% and a return on equity of 13.44%. Guidewire Software's revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Guidewire Software declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 8th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Guidewire Software from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $249.85.

About Guidewire Software

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GWRE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.