First Trust Advisors LP Buys 23,815 Shares of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT - Free Report) by 108.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,772 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after buying an additional 23,815 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.06% of Gartner worth $22,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IT. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in shares of Gartner by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 95,429 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $46,224,000 after buying an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Gartner by 271.9% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 96,426 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $46,716,000 after purchasing an additional 70,501 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Gartner by 701.5% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,574 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $3,669,000 after purchasing an additional 6,629 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Gartner by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Gartner by 86.1% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 1,446 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $701,000 after buying an additional 669 shares during the period. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Eileen Serra sold 1,200 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.77, for a total value of $587,724.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,627 shares in the company, valued at $796,855.79. This trade represents a 42.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP John J. Rinello sold 90 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.51, for a total transaction of $47,745.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,728,932.09. This trade represents a 2.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Gartner Stock Performance

Shares of IT traded up $2.32 on Thursday, reaching $423.40. 145,252 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 449,227. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $432.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $487.16. The stock has a market cap of $32.52 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.26. Gartner, Inc. has a 52-week low of $366.05 and a 52-week high of $584.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Gartner (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information technology services provider reported $5.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $2.23. Gartner had a return on equity of 116.56% and a net margin of 20.00%. The company had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.04 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Gartner, Inc. will post 12.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on IT shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Gartner from $401.00 to $400.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Gartner from $564.00 to $555.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Gartner from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Gartner in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Gartner from $565.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gartner currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $513.50.

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.