Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,998,197 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 14,602 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 2.60% of Gartner worth $838,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Gartner in the fourth quarter worth about $460,541,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gartner in the fourth quarter worth about $244,799,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gartner by 40,841.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499,071 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $209,480,000 after purchasing an additional 497,852 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gartner in the fourth quarter worth about $165,476,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Gartner by 184.6% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 390,472 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $189,172,000 after purchasing an additional 253,288 shares during the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gartner Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of IT traded up $4.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $400.28. 341,174 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 505,861. The stock has a market cap of $30.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.19. The stock's 50-day moving average is $423.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $454.86. Gartner, Inc. has a 12 month low of $366.05 and a 12 month 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.

Gartner (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. Gartner had a return on equity of 96.70% and a net margin of 19.82%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Gartner, Inc. will post 12.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on IT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Gartner from $401.00 to $400.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Gartner from $605.00 to $557.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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. Barclays reduced 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Gartner from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gartner currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $515.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William James Wartinbee III sold 538 shares of the company's 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 owned 7,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,577,001.85. This represents a 6.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Akhil Jain sold 625 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $281,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,946,600. The trade was a 8.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,426 shares of company stock valued at $2,430,327. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.