Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Gartner (NYSE:IT) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has lowered its price target for Gartner's stock from $490.00 to $455.00, while maintaining an "equal weight" rating.
• Goldman Sachs and Barclays also revised their price targets, with Goldman Sachs lowering it from $622.00 to $535.00 and Barclays from $510.00 to $475.00, indicating the stock's mixed outlook among analysts.
• Gartner shares have recently traded down to $339.83, reflecting a decline from its 52-week high of $584.01 and indicating ongoing volatility in the stock's performance.

Gartner (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $490.00 to $455.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the information technology services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target suggests a potential upside of 33.89% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Gartner from $622.00 to $535.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays decreased their price target 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. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Gartner from $500.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Gartner from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $496.44.

Gartner Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IT traded down $3.97 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $339.83. 259,363 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 691,078. Gartner has a 52 week low of $340.31 and a 52 week high of $584.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $399.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $440.79. The company has a market cap of $26.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Craig Safian sold 3,415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 77,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,063,741.30. The trade was a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William James Wartinbee III sold 538 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,965 shares in the company, valued at $3,577,001.85. This trade represents a 6.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,426 shares of company stock valued at $2,430,327. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gartner

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Gartner by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,210 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Gartner by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,443,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in Gartner by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 758 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Gartner by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,604 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,230,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keel Point LLC boosted its stake in Gartner by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 514 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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