Bank of Montreal Can Purchases 83,945 Shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) by 183.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 129,648 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 83,945 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.16% of Guidewire Software worth $21,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Guidewire Software by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,436,873 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $747,968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,966 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Guidewire Software by 79.4% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 946,158 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $159,503,000 after buying an additional 418,642 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Guidewire Software by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,407,778 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $237,323,000 after acquiring an additional 291,774 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in Guidewire Software in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,145,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Guidewire Software by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 395,387 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $66,654,000 after acquiring an additional 194,832 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James Winston King sold 270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.78, for a total value of $47,190.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,664 shares in the company, valued at $7,981,153.92. The trade was a 0.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President John P. Mullen sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.78, for a total value of $401,994.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 178,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,188,791.88. The trade was a 1.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,280 shares of company stock worth $8,085,170 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Guidewire Software Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE GWRE opened at $190.90 on Friday. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 52-week low of $107.00 and a 52-week high of $219.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66. The stock has a market cap of $16.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 530.29, a P/E/G ratio of 37.21 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $194.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.45.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The technology company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.44). The firm had revenue of $289.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.74 million. Guidewire Software had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 2.38%. Analysts expect that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

Guidewire Software Company 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.