Royal Bank of Canada Purchases 71,842 Shares of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT)

Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT - Free Report) by 18.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 456,658 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 71,842 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.59% of Gartner worth $221,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of IT. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Gartner by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 452 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in Gartner by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,364 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $661,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in Gartner by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 826 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Gartner by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,210 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Gartner by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 737 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on IT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Gartner from $622.00 to $535.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Gartner from $605.00 to $557.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on Gartner from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Gartner from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Gartner from $401.00 to $400.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $518.67.

Insider Activity

In other Gartner news, SVP John J. Rinello sold 109 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.35, for a total value of $47,562.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,431,228. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP William James Wartinbee III sold 538 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.09, for a total transaction of $241,610.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,577,001.85. This represents a 6.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,626 shares of company stock valued at $3,018,051 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Gartner Price Performance

Shares of IT stock traded down $4.40 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $443.50. 495,038 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 456,337. The firm has a market cap of $34.13 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $420.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $478.96. Gartner, Inc. has a 1-year low of $366.05 and a 1-year high of $584.01.

Gartner (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The information technology services provider reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.26. Gartner had a return on equity of 116.56% and a net margin of 20.00%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Gartner, Inc. will post 12.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.