Gartner (NYSE:IT) Price Target Cut to $272.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has significantly reduced its price target for Gartner from $409.00 to $272.00, maintaining a "market perform" rating, indicating a potential upside of 12.61% from the stock's previous close.
• Multiple analysts have cut their price targets for Gartner, with Barclays lowering its target to $475.00 and Wells Fargo to $345.00, contributing to a current average price target of $400.88.
• Gartner reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $3.53 for the last quarter, exceeding the market estimate of $3.38, while revenue was $1.66 billion, just below expectations.

Gartner (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by BMO Capital Markets from $409.00 to $272.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "market perform" rating on the information technology services provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price target would suggest a potential upside of 12.61% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Gartner from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Gartner from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Gartner from $535.00 to $457.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Gartner from $490.00 to $455.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target (down previously from $480.00) on shares of Gartner in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $400.88.

Gartner Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IT traded down $2.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $241.54. 483,283 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 729,501. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company's 50 day moving average is $387.48 and its 200 day moving average is $434.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 1.19. Gartner has a one year low of $231.00 and a one year high of $584.01.

Gartner (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. Gartner had a net margin of 19.82% and a return on equity of 96.70%. Gartner's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.22 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Gartner will post 12.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Gartner

In related 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 value of $281,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,548 shares in the company, valued at $2,946,600. This trade represents a 8.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Craig Safian sold 3,415 shares of the firm'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 transaction 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 approximately $35,063,741.30. This trade represents a 4.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,578 shares of company stock valued at $2,060,191. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gartner

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in Gartner by 11.5% during 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 period. Three Seasons Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gartner during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $731,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted 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 worth $17,792,000 after buying an additional 1,484 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gartner in the fourth quarter worth about $309,000. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted 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 worth $482,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.51% of the company's stock.

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.

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