Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Position in Guidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 150,957 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,151 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Guidewire Software were worth $34,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,212 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 224 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 744,183 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $139,430,000 after buying an additional 205,127 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A lifted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 134.6% in the first quarter. Credit Agricole S A now owns 14,288 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,677,000 after acquiring an additional 8,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Partners Capital Investment Group LLP acquired a new position in Guidewire Software in the first quarter valued at approximately $286,000.

Guidewire Software Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of GWRE opened at $197.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a current ratio of 3.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.79 billion, a PE ratio of 188.06, a P/E/G ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $222.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $228.16. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.08 and a 1 year high of $272.60.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The technology company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 10.15%. The firm had revenue of $332.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 2,872 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.08, for a total value of $551,653.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 74,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,252,528.08. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider James Winston King sold 1,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.00, for a total value of $362,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 33,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,571,890. This represents a 5.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 57,140 shares of company stock valued at $11,972,936. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 target price (up previously from $255.00) on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Guidewire Software from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $242.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Guidewire Software from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.29.

About Guidewire Software

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.