Gartner (NYSE:IT) Sets New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The company traded as low as $409.50 and last traded at $416.01, with a volume of 186143 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $418.77.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Gartner from $605.00 to $557.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Gartner from $564.00 to $555.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays raised Gartner from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $525.00 to $600.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Gartner in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Gartner from $470.00 to $460.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $546.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gartner

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

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gartner

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Gartner in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gartner during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Gartner by 453.3% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 83 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Gartner in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Gartner by 2,350.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 98 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gartner Trading Up 0.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $33.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.94, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $502.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $507.99.

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