Gartner (NYSE:IT) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Gartner (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upgraded shares of Gartner from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $525.00 to $600.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Gartner from $564.00 to $555.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Gartner from $470.00 to $460.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Gartner from $529.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $550.75.

Gartner Price Performance

NYSE:IT traded up $8.92 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $537.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 419,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 454,893. The company has a market capitalization of $41.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. Gartner has a fifty-two week low of $411.15 and a fifty-two week high of $559.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $505.97 and a 200-day moving average of $502.00.

Gartner (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.48 billion. Gartner had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 17.33%. The business's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Gartner will post 11.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gartner

In other news, Director James C. Smith sold 10,000 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $535.76, for a total value of $5,357,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 554,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $296,957,838.24. This trade represents a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claire Herkes sold 411 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $778,732.56. The trade was a 21.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,583 shares of company stock worth $19,241,974. Insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gartner

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Gartner by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 16,725 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $8,103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Gartner by 70.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,144 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,607,000 after buying an additional 2,118 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its position in Gartner by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 10,306 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $5,223,000 after buying an additional 2,860 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gartner by 8.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 166,787 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $84,520,000 after buying an additional 13,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gartner by 1,074.8% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 70,312 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $35,631,000 after buying an additional 64,327 shares in the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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