Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 327 Shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,778 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 327 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Guidewire Software were worth $935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software in the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,829,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 23.4% in the first quarter. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 1,270,870 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $148,323,000 after acquiring an additional 240,622 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 3,308.1% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 189,525 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,666,000 after acquiring an additional 183,964 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 638,258 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $69,596,000 after acquiring an additional 162,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Guidewire Software by 121.0% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 295,595 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,499,000 after acquiring an additional 161,856 shares in the last quarter.

Guidewire Software Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of GWRE stock opened at $171.81 on Friday. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.15 and a 12 month high of $171.95. The stock has a market cap of $14.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,321.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.79.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 5th. The technology company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $291.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.84 million. Guidewire Software had a negative return on equity of 1.32% and a negative net margin of 0.62%. Guidewire Software’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Guidewire Software

In other Guidewire Software news, insider John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.12, for a total transaction of $187,812.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 139,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,361,469.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Guidewire Software news, insider John P. Mullen sold 1,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.12, for a total transaction of $187,812.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 139,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,361,469.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 5,582 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.54, for a total value of $751,002.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 239,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,261,750.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,064 shares of company stock valued at $1,782,775 over the last quarter. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on GWRE shares. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Guidewire Software from $146.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Guidewire Software from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.69.

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.