Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stake in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT - Free Report) by 3.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 801,589 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 25,315 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.04% of Gartner worth $422,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of Gartner in the second quarter valued at about $266,541,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gartner by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,897,328 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $852,014,000 after purchasing an additional 341,911 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Gartner in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $70,955,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gartner by 117.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Gartner during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,789,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IT has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Gartner from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Gartner from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Gartner from $565.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays increased their price target on Gartner from $470.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Gartner from $529.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $543.75.

Gartner Price Performance

NYSE IT traded down $5.67 on Friday, hitting $508.46. The company had a trading volume of 239,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 373,520. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company's fifty day moving average price is $522.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $488.51. The company has a market capitalization of $39.22 billion, a PE ratio of 37.50, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.31. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The information technology services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.05. Gartner had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 118.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Gartner, Inc. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Gartner

In other news, EVP William James Wartinbee III sold 189 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $523.54, for a total transaction of $98,949.06. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at $3,827,600.94. The trade was a 2.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claire Herkes sold 411 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $521.24, for a total transaction of $214,229.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,494 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders have sold 35,583 shares of company stock valued at $19,241,974 over the last ninety days. 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.