Gartner (NYSE:IT) Hits New 12-Month High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $505.58 and last traded at $502.61, with a volume of 269620 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $470.84.

The information technology services provider reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.20. Gartner had a return on equity of 141.59% and a net margin of 13.67%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.85 EPS. Gartner’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Gartner from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Gartner from $517.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Gartner from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Gartner in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $507.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Gartner from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gartner has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $521.00.

Insider Transactions at Gartner

In other Gartner news, Director James C. Smith sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.29, for a total transaction of $4,392,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 599,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $263,167,217.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director James C. Smith sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.29, for a total value of $4,392,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 599,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $263,167,217.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yvonne Genovese sold 439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.13, for a total transaction of $200,241.07. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,959 shares in the company, valued at approximately $893,558.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 22,544 shares of company stock valued at $10,079,813. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Gartner during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Gartner in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in shares of Gartner by 59.5% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 67 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gartner during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Gartner during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gartner Trading Down 1.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $38.29 billion, a PE ratio of 49.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50 day moving average of $448.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $454.71.

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.