Gartner (NYSE:IT) Reaches New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $500.00 to $480.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Gartner traded as low as $365.09 and last traded at $365.62, with a volume of 282201 shares. The stock had previously closed at $373.28.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on IT. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Gartner from $605.00 to $557.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Gartner from $401.00 to $400.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Gartner from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Gartner from $622.00 to $535.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Gartner from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $513.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP William James Wartinbee III sold 538 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.09, for a total transaction 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 approximately $3,577,001.85. This trade represents a 6.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robin B. Kranich sold 739 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.50, for a total value of $322,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,932,536. This represents a 3.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,426 shares of company stock valued at $2,430,327 in the last three months. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Gartner during the 4th quarter worth about $309,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Gartner by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 3,379 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,637,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Gartner by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 12,144 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $5,883,000 after buying an additional 1,688 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gartner by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 737 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gartner by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,464 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gartner Stock Down 0.7%

The company has a market cap of $27.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.46, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $415.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $449.38.

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

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.