Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Gartner, Inc. by 9.4%, owning a total of 956,223 shares valued at approximately $401.4 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Insider selling activity was noted as two executives sold shares at average prices around $450, reducing their ownership stakes in the company.
• Gartner's stock has seen significant target price reductions from various analysts, with Barclays lowering its price objective from $475 to $320, reflecting a bearish outlook on the company's performance.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT - Free Report) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 956,223 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after buying an additional 82,307 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 1.24% of Gartner worth $401,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of IT. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gartner in the 4th quarter valued at about $309,000. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in Gartner by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 17,342 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $8,402,000 after purchasing an additional 5,679 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its stake in Gartner by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,883 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $912,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC boosted its stake in Gartner by 110.5% in the 4th quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 945 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Gartner in the 4th quarter worth approximately $842,000. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on IT. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Gartner from $475.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Gartner from $345.00 to $225.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Gartner from $535.00 to $457.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Gartner from $455.00 to $322.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective (down from $480.00) on shares of Gartner in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gartner has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $369.25.

Insider Transactions at Gartner

In other Gartner news, CFO Craig Safian sold 3,415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.17, for a total value of $1,537,330.55. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 77,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,063,741.30. This trade represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $241,610.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,577,001.85. The trade was a 6.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,578 shares of company stock valued at $2,060,191 in the last ninety days. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gartner Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IT traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $229.00. 2,105,581 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,350,028. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $17.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $375.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $428.28. Gartner, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.14 and a twelve month high of $584.01.

Gartner (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The information technology services provider reported $3.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.15. Gartner had a net margin of 19.71% and a return on equity of 82.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.22 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Gartner, Inc. will post 12.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.