Gartner (NYSE:IT) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Gartner (NYSE:IT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

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

Gartner Stock Performance

NYSE IT opened at $449.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. Gartner has a 52-week low of $323.61 and a 52-week high of $486.54. The company has a fifty day moving average of $439.07 and a 200-day moving average of $452.18.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James C. Smith sold 10,000 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.20, for a total value of $4,552,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 608,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $276,929,568.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Yvonne Genovese sold 439 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.13, for a total value of $200,241.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $893,558.67. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James C. Smith sold 10,000 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.20, for a total value of $4,552,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 608,369 shares in the company, valued at $276,929,568.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,544 shares of company stock valued at $10,079,813. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gartner

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Gartner in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gartner during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gartner in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of Gartner by 59.5% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 67 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Gartner during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

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.