LPL Financial LLC Reduces Position in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC has reduced its stake in Gartner, Inc. by 15.9%, now holding 25,843 shares valued at approximately $10.85 million.
• Gartner reported $3.53 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.15, but its revenue was slightly below expectations at $1.66 billion.
• Several financial institutions, including Barclays and Goldman Sachs, have cut their target prices for Gartner, with forecasts now ranging as low as $225 to $320.

LPL Financial LLC lessened its holdings in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT - Free Report) by 15.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,843 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 4,883 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Gartner were worth $10,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Gartner by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 906,833 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $439,333,000 after purchasing an additional 88,800 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its stake in Gartner by 26.3% during the 1st quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 676,325 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $283,881,000 after acquiring an additional 140,898 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Gartner by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 649,567 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $314,696,000 after acquiring an additional 74,422 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Gartner by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 644,699 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $312,344,000 after acquiring an additional 27,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Gartner by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 552,190 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $231,776,000 after acquiring an additional 46,898 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on IT. Barclays decreased their target price on Gartner from $475.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price (down previously from $480.00) on shares of Gartner in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Gartner from $455.00 to $322.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Gartner from $409.00 to $272.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Gartner from $345.00 to $225.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $369.25.

Gartner Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of IT traded down $3.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $226.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,008,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 776,326. Gartner, Inc. has a 12-month low of $225.78 and a 12-month high of $584.01. The stock has a market cap of $17.39 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company's 50 day moving average is $375.39 and its 200 day moving average is $427.61.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.15. Gartner had a return on equity of 82.63% and a net margin of 19.71%. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.22 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Gartner, Inc. will post 12.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Akhil Jain sold 625 shares of the firm'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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 77,890 shares in the company, valued at $35,063,741.30. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,578 shares of company stock worth $2,060,191. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.