Gartner (NYSE:IT) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Gartner (NYSE:IT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

IT has been the topic of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Gartner in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set a hold rating and a $507.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Gartner from $550.00 to $510.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Gartner from $450.00 to $432.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Gartner from $536.00 to $517.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $474.50.

Gartner Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IT opened at $432.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $33.55 billion, a PE ratio of 43.01, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s fifty day moving average is $441.63 and its 200 day moving average is $451.90. Gartner has a 52 week low of $323.61 and a 52 week high of $486.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42.

Gartner (NYSE:IT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.40. Gartner had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 141.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Gartner will post 11.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Gartner

In related news, Director James C. Smith sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.20, for a total transaction of $4,552,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 608,369 shares in the company, valued at $276,929,568.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Gartner news, EVP Alwyn Dawkins sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.63, for a total transaction of $268,578.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,090,098.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James C. Smith sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.20, for a total transaction of $4,552,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 608,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $276,929,568.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,544 shares of company stock worth $10,079,813 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gartner

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IT. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gartner in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gartner in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gartner in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Gartner by 254.2% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 85 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Gartner by 357.9% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 87 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.