Gartner (NYSE:IT) Upgraded to "Buy" at UBS Group

Gartner (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at UBS Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $550.00 price objective on the information technology services provider's stock, up from their previous price objective of $484.00. UBS Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.87% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Gartner from $380.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Gartner from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Gartner from $421.00 to $446.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Gartner from $444.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gartner presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $470.25.

Gartner Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of IT traded up $10.89 on Thursday, reaching $474.67. The stock had a trading volume of 306,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 385,494. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. Gartner has a 12-month low of $292.60 and a 12-month high of $486.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $465.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $429.76.

Gartner (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology services provider reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. Gartner had a net margin of 14.94% and a return on equity of 156.35%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Gartner will post 11.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James C. Smith sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.68, for a total transaction of $4,596,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 623,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $286,488,664.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director James C. Smith sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.68, for a total transaction of $4,596,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 623,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $286,488,664.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Valentin Sribar sold 682 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.00, for a total value of $308,946.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,269 shares in the company, valued at $5,557,857. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,952 shares of company stock worth $10,598,070. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gartner

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BSW Wealth Partners lifted its position in Gartner by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 617 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Gartner by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 807 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Gartner by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,210,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of Gartner by 59.5% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 67 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Gartner by 36.2% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 25 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.