Polen Capital Management LLC Has $350.70 Million Position in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT)

Key Points

• Polen Capital Management LLC has reduced its stake in Gartner, Inc. by 7.4%, selling 67,168 shares and now holding approximately 1.1% of the company's stock.
• Several other investors, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Berger Financial Group Inc., have increased their positions in Gartner significantly during the same period.
• Wall Street analysts have decreased their price targets for Gartner, with notable reductions from firms like BMO Capital Markets and Wells Fargo & Company, reflecting a cautious outlook on the stock.

Polen Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT - Free Report) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 835,522 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 67,168 shares during the quarter. Gartner accounts for about 1.1% of Polen Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Polen Capital Management LLC owned about 1.09% of Gartner worth $350,702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Gartner by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,210 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC grew its stake in Gartner by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,443,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in Gartner by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 758 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Gartner by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,604 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,230,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keel Point LLC grew its stake in Gartner by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 514 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Gartner

In other news, EVP Akhil Jain sold 625 shares of the firm'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 transaction 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. This trade represents a 8.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gartner Trading Up 5.7%

Shares of IT stock traded up $13.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $242.45. 1,677,489 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 787,501. The firm has a market cap of $18.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 1.19. Gartner, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.65 and a fifty-two week high of $584.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $367.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.13.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on IT. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective (down from $480.00) on shares of Gartner in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Gartner from $535.00 to $457.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Gartner from $409.00 to $272.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Gartner from $475.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Gartner from $455.00 to $322.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $369.25.

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.