Bessemer Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE)

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its position in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 186,787 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 6,786 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.22% of Guidewire Software worth $34,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 valued at $747,968,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,966 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in Guidewire Software during the 1st quarter worth about $85,453,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Guidewire Software by 79.4% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 946,158 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $159,503,000 after purchasing an additional 418,642 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Guidewire Software by 242.2% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 555,892 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $93,683,000 after purchasing an additional 393,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC acquired a new stake in Guidewire Software in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,118,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $235.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Guidewire Software from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Guidewire Software from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President John P. Mullen sold 2,300 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.95, for a total transaction of $432,285.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 164,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,829,438.50. The trade was a 1.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.82, for a total value of $234,948.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 258,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,397,077.26. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,160 shares of company stock worth $3,779,767 over the last quarter. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWRE opened at $235.83 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.01 and a fifty-two week high of $263.20. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $220.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $199.66. The firm has a market cap of $19.86 billion, a PE ratio of 589.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 23.32 and a beta of 1.15.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The technology company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $293.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $286.40 million. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 3.04% and a return on equity of 6.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Guidewire Software 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.