Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Stock Holdings in Guidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its stake in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) by 14.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 124,655 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 21,200 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Guidewire Software were worth $28,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Guidewire Software during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Guidewire Software during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Guidewire Software in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 135.1% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 174 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

GWRE stock opened at $139.04 on Tuesday. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.00 and a 12 month high of $272.60. The company has a current ratio of 3.48, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $188.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.88. The stock has a market cap of $11.82 billion, a PE ratio of 132.42, a P/E/G ratio of 9.17 and a beta of 1.06.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 3rd. The technology company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 10.15%. The company had revenue of $332.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Guidewire Software declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, January 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GWRE. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $281.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. DA Davidson raised shares of Guidewire Software from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $246.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Zacks Research cut shares of Guidewire Software from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $242.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President John P. Mullen sold 7,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.08, for a total transaction of $1,531,838.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 141,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,272,094.64. The trade was a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 2,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.08, for a total transaction of $551,653.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 74,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,252,528.08. The trade was a 3.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 47,158 shares of company stock worth $9,241,717 in the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Guidewire Software Profile

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.