Gartner (NYSE:IT) Raised 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 released on Thursday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective 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. UBS Group decreased their price target on Gartner from $550.00 to $510.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Gartner from $421.00 to $446.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Gartner in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued a hold rating and a $507.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Gartner from $536.00 to $517.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gartner currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $474.50.

Gartner Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IT traded up $6.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $434.72. 187,917 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 408,154. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.90 billion, a PE ratio of 42.65, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.32. Gartner has a 52 week low of $300.94 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. The company’s 50 day moving average is $462.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $441.53.

Gartner (NYSE:IT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.40. Gartner had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 141.55%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.88 earnings per share. Gartner’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Gartner will post 11.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gartner

In other news, EVP Claire Herkes sold 1,460 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.76, for a total transaction of $694,609.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $1,352,109.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Valentin Sribar sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.00, for a total transaction of $308,946.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,557,857. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claire Herkes sold 1,460 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.76, for a total value of $694,609.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,352,109.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 22,952 shares of company stock worth $10,598,070. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gartner

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IT. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Gartner during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Gartner during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Gartner in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Gartner in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gartner by 254.2% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 85 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.