Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Buys 6,444 Shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,444 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $919,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in Guidewire Software during the second quarter valued at about $1,106,768,000. Linonia Partnership LP acquired a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software in the second quarter valued at about $853,165,000. Route One Investment Company L.P. bought a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the second quarter worth about $227,564,000. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the second quarter worth about $149,611,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 547.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,180,334 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $176,537,000 after purchasing an additional 997,992 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on GWRE. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Friday, September 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $222.00 target price on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Guidewire Software from $137.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Guidewire Software currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.23.

Insider Activity at Guidewire Software

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Cooper sold 23,234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.47, for a total value of $3,356,615.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 95,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,776,803.67. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CAO David Peterson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,957,400. The trade was a 20.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 201,935 shares of company stock valued at $30,381,323. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Guidewire Software Price Performance

Shares of Guidewire Software stock traded up $2.64 during trading on Monday, hitting $171.50. 870,494 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,550,432. The company has a market cap of $14.28 billion, a PE ratio of 105.21 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $166.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.66. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a twelve month low of $102.30 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 3rd. The technology company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.06. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The firm had revenue of $411.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $402.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

About Guidewire Software

Guidewire Software, Inc provides cloud-based software designed for the property and casualty insurance industry. Its platform helps insurers manage core operations, including policy administration, billing, claims management, underwriting, and digital customer engagement.

The company’s principal offerings include InsuranceSuite, which incorporates PolicyCenter, BillingCenter, and ClaimCenter, as well as products for insurance data management, analytics, digital experiences, and application development.