Gartner (NYSE:IT) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

Gartner (NYSE:IT) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

IT has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Gartner from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $525.00 to $600.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Gartner in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Gartner from $470.00 to $460.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Gartner from $564.00 to $555.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Gartner from $605.00 to $557.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $546.63.

Gartner Stock Performance

NYSE:IT opened at $430.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Gartner has a 1 year low of $409.50 and a 1 year high of $584.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $502.37 and a 200-day moving average of $507.84.

Gartner (NYSE:IT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information technology services provider reported $5.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $2.23. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. Gartner had a return on equity of 116.56% and a net margin of 20.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.04 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gartner will post 12.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP John J. Rinello sold 90 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.51, for a total transaction of $47,745.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,728,932.09. This trade represents a 2.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Eileen Serra sold 1,200 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.77, for a total value of $587,724.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $796,855.79. This represents a 42.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gartner

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IT. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Gartner during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gartner during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its position in Gartner by 453.3% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 83 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Gartner in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Gartner by 2,350.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 98 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Gartner Company Profile

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.