Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) Shares Acquired by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Free Report) by 98.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,504 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,723 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Guidewire Software were worth $1,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,455,534 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,425,434,000 after acquiring an additional 90,618 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,436,873 shares of the technology company's stock worth $747,968,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,966 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,407,778 shares of the technology company's stock worth $237,323,000 after acquiring an additional 291,774 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,342,771 shares of the technology company's stock worth $226,701,000 after acquiring an additional 12,697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 79.4% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 946,158 shares of the technology company's stock worth $159,503,000 after acquiring an additional 418,642 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other Guidewire Software news, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 1,956 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $370,485.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 71,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,550,012.58. This represents a 2.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President John P. Mullen sold 2,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.13, for a total value of $467,199.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 172,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,028,955.98. This represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,371 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,005 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWRE traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $216.55. 582,623 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 923,123. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 12-month low of $107.65 and a 12-month high of $219.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $18.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 601.53, a PEG ratio of 37.21 and a beta of 1.18. The business's fifty day moving average price is $195.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.57.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The technology company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.44). The firm had revenue of $289.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $285.74 million. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 2.38% and a net margin of 2.91%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GWRE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $228.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.08.

Guidewire Software Company 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.