Insider Selling: Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) CFO Sells $755,031.04 in Stock

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 4,757 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.72, for a total value of $755,031.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 67,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,792,325.12. This trade represents a 6.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Jeffrey Elliott Cooper also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 13th, Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 216 shares of Guidewire Software stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.87, for a total value of $39,067.92.
• On Thursday, December 18th, Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 1,232 shares of Guidewire Software stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.00, for a total value of $240,240.00.
• On Tuesday, December 16th, Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 2,872 shares of Guidewire Software stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.08, for a total value of $551,653.76.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

Shares of Guidewire Software stock opened at $160.56 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.98, a P/E/G ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.37 and a 12 month high of $272.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $150.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $198.84.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.40. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 14.11%.The firm had revenue of $359.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $342.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Guidewire Software announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 8th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GWRE. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $242.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $281.00 target price on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Guidewire Software presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.85.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GWRE. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in Guidewire Software during the 4th quarter valued at about $202,405,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 3,636.9% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 731,467 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $172,224,000 after purchasing an additional 711,893 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 240.0% in the second quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 850,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $200,132,000 after purchasing an additional 600,000 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 405.1% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 538,303 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $126,743,000 after purchasing an additional 431,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,445,206 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $290,501,000 after purchasing an additional 405,850 shares during the period.

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.