Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 1,160 Shares of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its stake in Gartner, Inc. by 15.9%, now holding 6,151 shares valued at approximately $2.58 million.
• Several analysts have decreased their price targets for Gartner, with Barclays setting a new target of $320 and Wells Fargo lowering theirs to $225, reflecting a bearish sentiment.
• Insider transactions include CFO Craig Safian selling 3,415 shares for over $1.5 million, reducing his ownership by 4.20%.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its holdings in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT - Free Report) by 15.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,151 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 1,160 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Gartner were worth $2,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Three Seasons Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gartner in the 4th quarter worth about $731,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gartner by 3.6% in the 1st 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 purchased a new position in shares of Gartner in the 4th quarter worth about $309,000. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gartner by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,145 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Akhil Jain sold 625 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $281,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,946,600. This represents a 8.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Gartner Trading Up 5.7%

NYSE IT traded up $13.06 on Wednesday, hitting $242.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,677,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,483,968. Gartner, Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.65 and a 52-week high of $584.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $363.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $422.88. The firm has a market cap of $18.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on IT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Gartner from $535.00 to $457.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price (down from $480.00) on shares of Gartner in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Gartner from $455.00 to $322.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Gartner from $409.00 to $272.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Gartner from $345.00 to $225.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gartner has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $369.25.

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.