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

Horizon Investments LLC lessened its position in shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) by 63.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GWRE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Guidewire Software by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,039,377 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,077,791,000 after acquiring an additional 116,726 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 18.9% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,271,528 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $292,146,000 after purchasing an additional 202,064 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 982,747 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $225,894,000 after buying an additional 251,280 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 856,487 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $196,872,000 after buying an additional 75,955 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in Guidewire Software by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 784,524 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $180,331,000 after buying an additional 48,956 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWRE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $246.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Guidewire Software currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.85.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

Guidewire Software stock opened at $131.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.90 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a current ratio of 2.93. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.57 and a fifty-two week high of $272.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $145.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.88.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $359.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $342.88 million. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 14.11%.The company’s revenue was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Guidewire Software declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, January 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President John P. Mullen sold 6,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total value of $1,077,543.36. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider James Winston King sold 1,001 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total transaction of $164,023.86. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,701 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,358,385.86. This represents a 2.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 31,279 shares of company stock valued at $4,843,478 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.