UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Gartner (NYSE:IT) Stock Price

Gartner (NYSE:IT) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at UBS Group from $565.00 to $500.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the information technology services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 16.36% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on IT. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Gartner in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Gartner from $470.00 to $460.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Gartner from $605.00 to $557.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of Gartner from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Gartner from $564.00 to $555.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $536.63.

Gartner Stock Performance

NYSE:IT opened at $429.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.01 billion, a PE ratio of 26.81, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.29. Gartner has a 1 year low of $409.50 and a 1 year high of $584.01. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $501.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $507.61.

Gartner (NYSE:IT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information technology services provider reported $5.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gartner will post 12.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP John J. Rinello sold 90 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,728,932.09. This trade represents a 2.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Eileen Serra sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.77, for a total transaction of $587,724.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Gartner by 5.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,001,142 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,014,099,000 after purchasing an additional 103,814 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its position in Gartner by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 1,454 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $737,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Gartner by 166.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,168 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $8,700,000 after acquiring an additional 10,729 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Gartner in the 3rd quarter valued at about $441,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its position in Gartner by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 947 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.