Guidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE Holdings Lifted by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) by 4,507.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 318,675 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 311,759 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp owned 0.37% of Guidewire Software worth $64,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GWRE. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 620.0% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software during the third quarter valued at $35,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Guidewire Software news, insider James Winston King sold 1,001 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.86, for a total value of $164,023.86. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,358,385.86. The trade was a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.75, for a total value of $167,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 215,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,075,038.50. This represents a 0.55% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,279 shares of company stock valued at $4,867,874. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GWRE. Zacks Research upgraded Guidewire Software from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $246.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.85.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GWRE opened at $141.34 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $143.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 2.93 and a quick ratio of 2.93. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a one year low of $115.57 and a one year high of $272.60. The company has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 1.05.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.40. Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 14.11%.The firm had revenue of $359.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $342.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Guidewire Software announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, January 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Guidewire Software

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.