Weitz Investment Management Inc. Has $36.91 Million Stock Holdings in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT)

Key Points

• Weitz Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Gartner, Inc. by 36.5%, owning approximately 87,925 shares worth about $36.9 million, making it the firm's 21st largest holding.
• In the first quarter, several institutional investors also increased their stakes in Gartner, including a significant increase of 110.2% by Bank of Nova Scotia.
• Gartner reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.98, exceeding analysts' estimates by $0.26, alongside a revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter.

Weitz Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT - Free Report) by 36.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 87,925 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 23,500 shares during the period. Gartner comprises approximately 2.0% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Weitz Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.11% of Gartner worth $36,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gartner by 11.5% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 921 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Gartner in the fourth quarter valued at about $731,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gartner by 3.6% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 42,389 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $17,792,000 after buying an additional 1,484 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Gartner in the fourth quarter valued at about $309,000. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gartner by 3.6% in the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,145 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.51% of the company's stock.

Gartner Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of IT stock traded down $1.24 on Friday, reaching $228.45. The company had a trading volume of 1,222,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 761,884. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $17.58 billion, a PE ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $379.54 and a 200-day moving average of $430.98. Gartner, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.14 and a 12 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. Gartner had a return on equity of 82.63% and a net margin of 19.71%. Gartner's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Gartner, Inc. will post 12.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William James Wartinbee III sold 538 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.09, for a total value of $241,610.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,577,001.85. This represents a 6.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Craig Safian sold 3,415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.17, for a total value of $1,537,330.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 77,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,063,741.30. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders 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 owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on IT. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective (down from $480.00) on shares of Gartner in a report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price objective on Gartner from $475.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Gartner from $409.00 to $272.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Gartner from $535.00 to $457.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Gartner from $455.00 to $322.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.