Guidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE Shares Acquired by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) by 6.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 575,587 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 37,284 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.68% of Guidewire Software worth $132,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Planning raised its stake in Guidewire Software by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,640 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,894,000 after acquiring an additional 5,118 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 18.9% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,271,528 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $292,146,000 after acquiring an additional 202,064 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,290,000. 4D Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Guidewire Software by 25.0% during the third quarter. 4D Advisors LLC now owns 25,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,746,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. raised its position in Guidewire Software by 21.1% in the third quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 1,221 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

NYSE:GWRE opened at $161.93 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.44. 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 twelve month low of $120.37 and a twelve month high of $272.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.60, a PEG ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 1.06.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $359.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $342.88 million. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 14.11%.Guidewire Software’s quarterly revenue was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. 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 announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, January 8th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWRE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $246.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Guidewire Software from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. BTIG Research upped their price target on Guidewire Software from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Guidewire Software

In other Guidewire Software news, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 4,757 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.72, for a total transaction of $755,031.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 67,996 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,792,325.12. This represents a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.34, for a total transaction of $199,608.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 227,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,782,966.62. This trade represents a 0.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 19,265 shares of company stock worth $3,232,537 over the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.