Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) Short Interest Up 22.7% in May

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,110,000 shares, an increase of 22.7% from the April 30th total of 1,720,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 672,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Gartner from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Gartner from $605.00 to $557.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Gartner from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Gartner from $622.00 to $535.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Gartner from $401.00 to $400.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $518.67.

Gartner Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IT traded down $4.60 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $421.02. 672,171 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 468,162. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.40 billion, a PE ratio of 26.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $420.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $471.86. Gartner has a 12 month low of $366.05 and a 12 month high of $584.01.

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. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. Gartner had a net margin of 20.00% and a return on equity of 116.56%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Gartner will post 12.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gartner

In other news, SVP John J. Rinello sold 109 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.35, for a total transaction of $47,562.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,431,228. This trade represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Akhil Jain sold 625 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $281,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,946,600. The trade was a 8.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,426 shares of company stock valued at $2,430,327. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gartner

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Gartner during the 4th quarter worth approximately $460,541,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Gartner by 692.2% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,066,732 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $447,751,000 after buying an additional 932,077 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gartner during the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,799,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Gartner by 40,841.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 499,071 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $209,480,000 after buying an additional 497,852 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gartner during the 4th quarter worth approximately $165,476,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.