2,770 Shares in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) Bought by Banco Santander S.A.

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. has acquired a new stake in Gartner, purchasing 2,770 shares valued at approximately $1,163,000 during the first quarter.
• Analysts have adjusted their price targets for Gartner, with Morgan Stanley lowering it from $490 to $455 and several other firms issuing various ratings, indicating a mixed sentiment about the stock.
• Recent transactions show insider selling activity, with William James Wartinbee III and CFO Craig Safian selling a combined total of 3,953 shares in May, reflecting a decrease in their respective ownership stakes.

Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new position in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,770 shares of the information technology services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,163,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gartner during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Gartner by 453.3% during the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 83 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gartner during the first quarter valued at about $42,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gartner by 210.8% during the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gartner during the first quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors own 91.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Robin B. Kranich sold 739 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.50, for a total transaction of $322,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,464 shares in the company, valued at $8,932,536. The trade was a 3.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John J. Rinello sold 109 shares of the business'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 value of $47,562.15. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,426 shares of company stock valued at $2,430,327. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on IT shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Gartner from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Gartner from $490.00 to $455.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Gartner from $622.00 to $535.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Gartner from $500.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Gartner from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gartner currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $482.57.

Gartner Trading Down 27.5%

IT stock traded down $92.44 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $244.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,538,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 942,775. The company has a market cap of $18.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 1.19. The business's 50 day moving average price is $387.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $434.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. Gartner, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.00 and a 12 month high of $584.01.

Gartner (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The information technology services provider reported $3.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. Gartner had a return on equity of 96.70% and a net margin of 19.82%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.22 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict 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.