Gartner (NYSE:IT) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $490.00 to $528.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Gartner traded as high as $522.00 and last traded at $521.00, with a volume of 57501 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $520.68.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Gartner from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Gartner to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Gartner from $517.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Gartner from $450.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Gartner from $525.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $529.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Eugene A. Hall sold 34,060 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.40, for a total transaction of $17,213,924.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,143,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $577,874,865.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Gartner news, EVP Akhil Jain sold 400 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $485.00, for a total transaction of $194,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,346,915. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Eugene A. Hall sold 34,060 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.40, for a total value of $17,213,924.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,143,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $577,874,865.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 65,164 shares of company stock worth $32,601,014 in the last quarter. 3.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gartner

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gartner during the 4th quarter worth approximately $867,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in Gartner by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,308 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Gartner in the fourth quarter worth $160,000. Syon Capital LLC grew its stake in Gartner by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 933 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Gartner by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,852,820 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $835,826,000 after purchasing an additional 198,274 shares during the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gartner Stock Down 0.4 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $494.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $465.97. 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 capitalization of $40.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.61, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.32.

Gartner (NYSE:IT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The information technology services provider reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.20. Gartner had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 142.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.85 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Gartner, Inc. will post 11.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.