Gartner (NYSE:IT) Upgraded 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 Wednesday morning.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on IT. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Gartner from $490.00 to $528.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Gartner from $529.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Gartner from $470.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Gartner from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Gartner from $565.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $539.25.

Gartner Stock Performance

NYSE:IT opened at $536.90 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $510.44 and its 200-day moving average is $473.06. Gartner has a 52-week low of $392.49 and a 52-week high of $542.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.80, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $41.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.13, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.32.

Gartner (NYSE:IT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The information technology services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.05. Gartner had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 142.05%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Gartner will post 11.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Yvonne Genovese sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.62, for a total transaction of $214,243.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $947,411.58. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Gartner news, EVP Akhil Jain sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $485.00, for a total value of $194,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,346,915. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yvonne Genovese sold 443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.62, for a total transaction of $214,243.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,959 shares in the company, valued at approximately $947,411.58. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,899 shares of company stock valued at $24,959,886 over the last three months. 3.60% of the stock is 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 the company. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Gartner by 15.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 230,939 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $117,031,000 after purchasing an additional 30,842 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gartner by 1,074.8% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 70,312 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $35,631,000 after acquiring an additional 64,327 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gartner by 37.7% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,537 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,806,000 after acquiring an additional 1,515 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gartner by 2.1% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gartner by 0.5% during the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,434 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,247,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. 91.51% of the stock is owned by 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.