B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Makes New Investment in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 72,596 shares of the information technology services provider's stock, valued at approximately $36,789,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG owned about 0.09% of Gartner as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Gartner during the second quarter valued at approximately $266,541,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Gartner by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,897,328 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $852,014,000 after purchasing an additional 341,911 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Gartner by 38.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 414,559 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $197,608,000 after purchasing an additional 114,610 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Gartner by 117.4% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 200,097 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $89,856,000 after purchasing an additional 108,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Gartner during the first quarter worth about $30,735,000. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gartner Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:IT traded down $3.00 on Tuesday, reaching $517.73. The stock had a trading volume of 380,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 369,898. The company has a 50-day moving average of $518.32 and a 200 day moving average of $478.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The stock has a market cap of $39.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.32. Gartner, Inc. has a 12-month low of $411.15 and a 12-month high of $559.00.

Gartner (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The information technology services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Gartner, Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Eugene A. Hall sold 34,060 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,143,401 shares in the company, valued at $577,874,865.40. This represents a 2.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James C. Smith sold 2,128 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.15, for a total value of $1,064,319.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 572,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $286,130,813.50. The trade was a 0.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 73,172 shares of company stock valued at $38,023,255 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on IT shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Gartner from $565.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Gartner from $470.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised Gartner from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upped their price target on Gartner from $525.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Gartner from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $539.25.

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.