Gartner (NYSE:IT) Hits New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $488.00 to $401.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an underweight rating on the stock. Gartner traded as low as $366.05 and last traded at $377.84, with a volume of 229952 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $383.24.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on IT. StockNews.com cut Gartner from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays reduced their target price on Gartner from $600.00 to $510.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Gartner in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Gartner from $564.00 to $555.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Gartner from $565.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gartner has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $518.00.

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Insider Activity

In other Gartner news, SVP John J. Rinello sold 90 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.51, for a total value of $47,745.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,728,932.09. The trade was a 2.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Eileen Serra sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.77, for a total transaction of $587,724.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,627 shares in the company, valued at $796,855.79. This represents a 42.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gartner

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Gartner by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,001,142 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,014,099,000 after purchasing an additional 103,814 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Gartner by 8.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gartner during the third quarter worth $205,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gartner in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,216,000. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its position in shares of Gartner by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 17,146 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $8,689,000 after acquiring an additional 2,313 shares during the period. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gartner Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $461.38 and a 200-day moving average of $496.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.26.

Gartner (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information technology services provider reported $5.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $2.23. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.69 billion. Gartner had a return on equity of 116.56% and a net margin of 20.00%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Gartner, Inc. will post 12.5 earnings per share for the current year.

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.