Gartner (NYSE:IT) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $542.13 and last traded at $536.88, with a volume of 2276 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $513.48.

The information technology services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.05. Gartner had a return on equity of 142.05% and a net margin of 13.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on IT. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Gartner from $450.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Gartner from $490.00 to $528.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Gartner from $525.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Gartner from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Gartner from $470.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $535.00.

Insider Activity

In other Gartner news, EVP Yvonne Genovese sold 443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.62, for a total transaction of $214,243.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,959 shares in the company, valued at $947,411.58. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Gartner news, CEO Eugene A. Hall sold 34,060 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.40, for a total transaction of $17,213,924.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,143,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $577,874,865.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yvonne Genovese sold 443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.62, for a total value of $214,243.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $947,411.58. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,899 shares of company stock worth $24,959,886. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gartner

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IT. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Gartner by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 104 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in Gartner by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 763 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association grew its stake in Gartner by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 744 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Gartner by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,079 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Wallace Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Gartner by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 980 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gartner Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $509.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $472.61. The company has a market cap of $40.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.80, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

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.