Gartner (NYSE:IT) Price Target Lowered to $345.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Gartner (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $400.00 to $345.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "underweight" rating on the information technology services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective indicates a potential downside of 3.03% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on IT. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Gartner from $500.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their target price on Gartner from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Gartner from $622.00 to $535.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Gartner from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Gartner from $605.00 to $557.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gartner presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $507.56.

Gartner Stock Down 1.6%

NYSE:IT traded down $5.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $355.77. 719,688 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 527,535. The company has a fifty day moving average of $414.37 and a 200 day moving average of $448.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Gartner has a twelve month low of $352.37 and a twelve month high of $584.01. The company has a market capitalization of $27.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.19.

Gartner (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The information technology services provider reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. Gartner had a net margin of 19.82% and a return on equity of 96.70%. Gartner's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Gartner will post 12.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Akhil Jain sold 625 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 8.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William James Wartinbee III sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.09, for a total value of $241,610.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,965 shares in the company, valued at $3,577,001.85. This represents a 6.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,426 shares of company stock worth $2,430,327. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gartner

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Gartner in the 4th quarter worth about $460,541,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gartner by 692.2% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,066,732 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $447,751,000 after acquiring an additional 932,077 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gartner by 40,841.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499,071 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $209,480,000 after acquiring an additional 497,852 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gartner in the first quarter worth approximately $128,318,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Gartner by 184.6% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 390,472 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $189,172,000 after purchasing an additional 253,288 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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