Cetera Investment Advisers Increases Holdings in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE)

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) by 22.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,292 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 3,883 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Guidewire Software were worth $3,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GWRE. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Guidewire Software by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,436,873 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $747,968,000 after buying an additional 1,009,966 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Guidewire Software by 79.4% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 946,158 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $159,503,000 after buying an additional 418,642 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC purchased a new position in Guidewire Software during the fourth quarter valued at $58,118,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Guidewire Software by 877.7% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 367,445 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $61,944,000 after buying an additional 329,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in Guidewire Software by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,407,778 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $237,323,000 after buying an additional 291,774 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Guidewire Software from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Guidewire Software from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Guidewire Software from $228.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Guidewire Software currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.36, for a total value of $291,704.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 252,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,713,621.48. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President John P. Mullen sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.13, for a total transaction of $467,199.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 172,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,028,955.98. This represents a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,371 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,005. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

Shares of GWRE opened at $215.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a one year low of $107.65 and a one year high of $219.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 597.22, a PEG ratio of 37.21 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $194.35 and a 200 day moving average of $192.37.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The technology company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.44). Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 2.38% and a net margin of 2.91%. The company had revenue of $289.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $285.74 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

Guidewire Software Profile

Guidewire Software, Inc provides a platform for property and casualty (P&C) insurers worldwide. The company offers Guidewire InsuranceSuite Cloud, such as PolicyCenter Cloud, BillingCenter Cloud, and ClaimCenter Cloud applications. It also provides Guidewire InsuranceNow, a cloud-based platform that offers policy, billing, and claims management functionality to insurers; and Guidewire InsuranceSuite for Self-Managed.