Merit Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,593 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $772,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Gartner during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Gartner during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Gartner by 2,350.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 98 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Gartner by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 104 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of Gartner by 46.5% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 148 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Gartner

In related news, Director James C. Smith sold 17,533 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.09, for a total value of $9,592,128.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 532,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,212,724.46. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claire Herkes sold 411 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.24, for a total value of $214,229.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $778,732.56. This trade represents a 21.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,583 shares of company stock worth $19,241,974. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Gartner from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $525.00 to $600.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Gartner from $470.00 to $460.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Gartner from $529.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Gartner from $565.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Gartner from $564.00 to $555.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.75.

Gartner Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:IT opened at $524.80 on Thursday. Gartner, Inc. has a 52 week low of $411.15 and a 52 week high of $559.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $505.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $499.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31.

Gartner (NYSE:IT) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Gartner had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 17.33%. Gartner’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Gartner, Inc. will post 11.87 EPS for the current year.

Gartner 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.