Citigroup Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Guidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE

Citigroup Inc. trimmed its position in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) by 20.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,576 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 14,518 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.07% of Guidewire Software worth $13,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GWRE. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Guidewire Software by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 989 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 9.3% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 624 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc increased its stake in Guidewire Software by 6.4% in the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 911 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its position in Guidewire Software by 1.7% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,739 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $859,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Guidewire Software by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 963 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider James Winston King sold 1,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.00, for a total value of $362,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 33,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,571,890. This represents a 5.23% 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 Guidewire Software stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.08, for a total transaction of $551,653.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 74,201 shares in the company, valued at $14,252,528.08. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 47,160 shares of company stock valued at $8,917,644. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

NYSE:GWRE opened at $145.53 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.74. The company has a current ratio of 3.48, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a twelve month low of $120.37 and a twelve month high of $272.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 138.60, a PEG ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Guidewire Software declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GWRE shares. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Guidewire Software from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $281.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Guidewire Software from $242.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Guidewire Software presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.92.

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.