Scotia Capital Inc. Acquires 4,865 Shares of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT)

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. increased its position in Gartner, Inc. by 37.2% during the 1st quarter, resulting in a total ownership of 17,951 shares valued at approximately $7.5 million.
• Multiple large investors, including Bank of Nova Scotia and R Squared Ltd, significantly boosted their stakes in Gartner during the same period, reflecting increased institutional interest in the company.
• Gartner reported $2.98 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, with a 19.82% net margin and a revenue increase of 4.2% year-over-year.

Scotia Capital Inc. increased its stake in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT - Free Report) by 37.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,951 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,865 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Gartner were worth $7,535,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of IT. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in Gartner by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 921 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Three Seasons Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Gartner in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $731,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Gartner by 3.6% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 42,389 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $17,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Gartner in the fourth quarter valued at $309,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gartner by 1.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,612 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $12,009,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Gartner Trading Down 27.5%

NYSE:IT traded down $92.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $244.27. The 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. Gartner, Inc. has a one year low of $231.00 and a one year high of $584.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The business's 50 day moving average is $387.48 and its 200-day moving average is $434.27.

Gartner (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The information technology services provider reported $3.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.15. Gartner had a net margin of 19.82% and a return on equity of 96.70%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.22 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gartner, Inc. will post 12.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Craig Safian sold 3,415 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.17, for a total transaction of $1,537,330.55. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 77,890 shares in the company, valued at $35,063,741.30. This trade represents a 4.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Akhil Jain sold 625 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $281,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,548 shares in the company, valued at $2,946,600. This trade represents a 8.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,426 shares of company stock worth $2,430,327 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Gartner 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.