Gartner (NYSE:IT) Hits New 1-Year Low - Here's Why

Key Points

• Gartner's share price reached a new 52-week low of $326.93 during trading, indicating potential investor concern as the stock last traded at $330.83.
• Several analysts have downgraded their price targets for Gartner, with recommendations ranging from "buy" to "underweight," and an average target price of $482.57.
• Despite a decrease in stock value, Gartner reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with an EPS of $2.98, surpassing analyst estimates of $2.72.

Shares of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $326.93 and last traded at $330.83, with a volume of 1286149 shares. The stock had previously closed at $338.65.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 target price (down from $480.00) on shares of Gartner in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Gartner from $409.00 to $272.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Gartner from $535.00 to $457.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price target on Gartner from $475.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Gartner from $490.00 to $455.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $400.88.

Gartner Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $387.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $434.27. The stock has a market cap of $18.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.09 and a beta of 1.19. 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 (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The information technology services provider reported $3.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.15. Gartner had a return on equity of 96.70% and a net margin of 19.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.22 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Gartner, Inc. will post 12.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Gartner

In other Gartner news, CFO Craig Safian sold 3,415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.17, for a total value of $1,537,330.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 77,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,063,741.30. This trade represents a 4.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Akhil Jain sold 625 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 6,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,946,600. This represents a 8.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,578 shares of company stock worth $2,060,191 in the last 90 days. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gartner

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IT. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gartner in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Gartner in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Gartner by 453.3% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 83 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gartner in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gartner in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 91.51% of the company's stock.

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.