Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) by 6.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,317 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 461 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Guidewire Software were worth $1,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Guidewire Software by 23.2% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,747,349 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $378,832,000 after purchasing an additional 516,942 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 18,001.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 258,128 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $472,220,000 after buying an additional 256,702 shares in the last quarter. Teca Partners LP purchased a new position in Guidewire Software during the second quarter worth about $25,893,000. Linonia Partnership LP grew its position in Guidewire Software by 8.4% during the second quarter. Linonia Partnership LP now owns 2,395,601 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $330,329,000 after buying an additional 185,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in Guidewire Software in the 2nd quarter worth about $22,318,000.

Guidewire Software Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GWRE opened at $202.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -2,534.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 51.70 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $186.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.16. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 12-month low of $95.02 and a 12-month high of $202.99.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $291.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.84 million. Guidewire Software had a negative return on equity of 1.29% and a negative net margin of 0.62%. Guidewire Software’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Guidewire Software

In other Guidewire Software news, insider John P. Mullen sold 6,718 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total value of $1,156,570.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 160,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,562,643.84. This trade represents a 4.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider James Winston King sold 4,514 shares of Guidewire Software stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.66, for a total value of $779,387.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 48,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,328,600.42. This represents a 8.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,601 shares of company stock worth $9,116,179. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GWRE shares. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Guidewire Software from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Guidewire Software from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $168.00 price target on shares of Guidewire Software in a report on Friday, September 6th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.69.

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.