Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys 47,280 Shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE - Free Report) by 426.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 58,369 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 47,280 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Guidewire Software worth $9,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ossiam bought a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Guidewire Software by 101.0% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 197 shares of the technology company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in Guidewire Software during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Guidewire Software during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in Guidewire Software by 176.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 287 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, President John P. Mullen sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 $35,028,955.98. This represents a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.42, for a total transaction of $297,388.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 273,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,060,758.60. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,371 shares of company stock worth $6,207,005 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Guidewire Software Stock Up 0.6%

GWRE traded up $1.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $216.55. 582,623 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 925,646. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business's 50 day moving average is $195.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.59. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $107.65 and a fifty-two week high of $219.59. The stock has a market cap of $18.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 601.53, a PEG ratio of 37.21 and a beta of 1.18.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The technology company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.44). The business had revenue of $289.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.74 million. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 2.38% and a net margin of 2.91%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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