UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Gartner (NYSE:IT) Stock Price

Gartner (NYSE:IT) had its price objective lowered by UBS Group from $500.00 to $480.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the information technology services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on IT. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Gartner from $605.00 to $557.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Gartner from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Gartner from $401.00 to $400.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on Gartner from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Gartner from $622.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $513.67.

Gartner Stock Performance

IT stock opened at $361.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $27.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.19. Gartner has a 1 year low of $352.37 and a 1 year high of $584.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $414.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $448.52.

Gartner (NYSE:IT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The information technology services provider reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.26. Gartner had a return on equity of 96.70% and a net margin of 19.82%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Gartner will post 12.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Gartner

In related news, SVP John J. Rinello sold 109 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.35, for a total transaction of $47,562.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,431,228. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William James Wartinbee III sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.09, for a total transaction of $241,610.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,577,001.85. This represents a 6.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,426 shares of company stock valued at $2,430,327 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gartner

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IT. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Gartner in the 4th quarter worth about $309,000. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in Gartner by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 1,097 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $531,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Gartner by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 3,379 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,637,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its stake in Gartner by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 12,144 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $5,883,000 after buying an additional 1,688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Gartner by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 737 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gartner Company Profile

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.