Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 1,301 Shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) by 26.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,630 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,301 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Guidewire Software were worth $612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GWRE. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 1.5% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 74,010 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $13,399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 265.4% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,990 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,279,000 after purchasing an additional 5,077 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Guidewire Software during the third quarter valued at about $88,000. Portside Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Guidewire Software in the third quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Guidewire Software in the third quarter worth about $164,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $231.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Guidewire Software in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Guidewire Software from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President John P. Mullen sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.13, for a total value of $467,199.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 172,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,028,955.98. This represents a 1.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider James Winston King sold 1,509 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $258,129.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,728 shares in the company, valued at $7,993,291.68. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,656 shares of company stock valued at $7,856,836. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Guidewire Software Stock Performance

Guidewire Software stock opened at $186.54 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $194.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.58 billion, a PE ratio of 518.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 37.21 and a beta of 1.25. Guidewire Software, Inc. has a 1-year low of $107.00 and a 1-year high of $219.59.

Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The technology company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.44). Guidewire Software had a return on equity of 2.38% and a net margin of 2.91%. As a group, analysts expect that Guidewire Software, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.