Gartner (NYSE:IT) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Gartner (NYSE:IT) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Several other research firms have also commented on IT. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Gartner from $470.00 to $460.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Barclays raised shares of Gartner from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $525.00 to $600.00 in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Gartner from $529.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Gartner from $565.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Gartner from $560.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $551.88.

Gartner Trading Up 1.4 %

IT stock traded up $6.67 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $499.80. The company had a trading volume of 416,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,480. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $509.51 and a 200 day moving average of $496.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Gartner has a 12 month low of $411.15 and a 12 month high of $559.00. The company has a market capitalization of $38.55 billion, a PE ratio of 36.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.33.

Gartner (NYSE:IT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The information technology services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Gartner had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 17.33%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Gartner will post 11.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William James Wartinbee III sold 189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $523.54, for a total transaction of $98,949.06. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,827,600.94. This represents a 2.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James C. Smith sold 2,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $554.68, for a total transaction of $1,358,966.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 529,844 shares in the company, valued at $293,893,869.92. This trade represents a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,583 shares of company stock valued at $19,241,974 in the last three months. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gartner

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Gartner by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 481 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Gartner by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 104 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in shares of Gartner by 3.0% during the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 763 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gartner by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 917 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Wallace Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Gartner by 2.4% during the second quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 980 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $440,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc operates as a research and advisory company in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Research, Conferences, and Consulting. The Research segment delivers its research primarily through a subscription service that include on-demand access to published research content, data and benchmarks, and direct access to a network of research experts.