Gartner (NYSE:IT) Sets New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $500.00 to $480.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Gartner traded as low as $365.09 and last traded at $365.62, with a volume of 282201 shares. The stock had previously closed at $373.28.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Gartner from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Gartner from $622.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Gartner from $401.00 to $400.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their target price on Gartner from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Gartner from $605.00 to $557.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gartner currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $513.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gartner news, SVP John J. Rinello sold 109 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.35, for a total transaction of $47,562.15. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,431,228. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robin B. Kranich sold 739 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.50, for a total value of $322,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,932,536. The trade was a 3.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,426 shares of company stock valued at $2,430,327. 3.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gartner

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Gartner by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 589 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gartner by 2.8% in the second quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,308 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Gartner by 11.7% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,941 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management raised its stake in Gartner by 1.4% during the second quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 3,767 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,523,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Gartner during the second quarter worth about $1,874,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Gartner Stock Down 3.7%

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $417.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $449.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $27.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.19.

Gartner (NYSE:IT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The information technology services provider reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. Gartner had a net margin of 19.82% and a return on equity of 96.70%. Gartner’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gartner, Inc. will post 12.5 EPS for the current year.

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.