Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,001,142 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 103,814 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 2.58% of Gartner worth $1,014,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of IT. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Gartner in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Gartner during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in Gartner by 223.3% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 97 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in Gartner by 23.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 104 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Gartner by 58.7% during the first quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 146 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.51% of the company's stock.

Gartner Stock Up 0.7 %

IT stock traded up $3.67 during trading on Thursday, reaching $540.57. 177,170 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 367,665. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $510.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $473.06. Gartner, Inc. has a 12 month low of $396.60 and a 12 month 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 capitalization of $41.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.32.

Gartner (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Gartner had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 142.05%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Gartner, Inc. will post 11.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Gartner from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Gartner from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Gartner from $490.00 to $528.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Gartner from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Gartner from $450.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Gartner currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $539.25.

Insider Transactions at Gartner

In other news, CFO Craig Safian sold 6,310 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.57, for a total value of $3,051,326.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 71,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,596,532.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Gartner news, EVP Yvonne Genovese sold 443 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.62, for a total value of $214,243.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,959 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $947,411.58. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Craig Safian sold 6,310 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.57, for a total transaction of $3,051,326.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,544 shares in the company, valued at $34,596,532.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,899 shares of company stock valued at $24,959,886. Corporate insiders own 3.60% 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.