Gartner (NYSE:IT) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Strong Earnings

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $564.00 and last traded at $570.53, with a volume of 4477 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $547.80.

The information technology services provider reported $5.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $2.23. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. Gartner had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 118.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.04 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on IT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Gartner from $529.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Gartner from $565.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Gartner from $564.00 to $555.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Gartner from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Gartner from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $525.00 to $600.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gartner

In other Gartner news, EVP Claire Herkes sold 411 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.24, for a total value of $214,229.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,494 shares in the company, valued at $778,732.56. This represents a 21.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director James C. Smith sold 2,450 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $554.68, for a total value of $1,358,966.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 529,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $293,893,869.92. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,583 shares of company stock worth $13,884,374 over the last quarter. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gartner

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IT. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Gartner in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gartner during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gartner during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gartner by 2,350.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 98 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised 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 valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Gartner Trading Down 0.3 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $508.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $505.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

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.