Bessemer Group Inc. Increases Position in Guidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE

Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) by 35.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,906 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,662 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Guidewire Software were worth $18,830,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GWRE. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Amundi increased its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 703.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 36,093 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,220,000 after purchasing an additional 31,598 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Guidewire Software during the 2nd quarter valued at about $305,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 30.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,024 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,911 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,156,000 after buying an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter.

Guidewire Software Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE GWRE opened at $149.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.44, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.30 and a 52 week high of $272.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $131.86 and its 200 day moving average is $143.78. The company has a market cap of $12.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.04 and a beta of 0.95.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The technology company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $372.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $355.92 million. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 12.62%. The firm’s revenue was up 26.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Elliott Cooper sold 2,594 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.74, for a total transaction of $308,011.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 63,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,536,071.58. This represents a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider James Winston King sold 1,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.64, for a total value of $219,997.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 30,018 shares in the company, valued at $3,921,551.52. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 31,393 shares of company stock valued at $3,960,558. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on GWRE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Guidewire Software from $300.00 to $258.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $255.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $250.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $246.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.42.

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.