Fisher Funds Management LTD Invests $97.52 Million in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT)

Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new stake in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 201,164 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $97,518,000. Gartner comprises approximately 2.4% of Fisher Funds Management LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IT. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Gartner by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,257,355 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,650,697,000 after purchasing an additional 36,258 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Gartner by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,018,358 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,020,378,000 after purchasing an additional 36,698 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Gartner by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,012,799 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $975,141,000 after purchasing an additional 11,657 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Gartner by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,036,530 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $525,272,000 after buying an additional 70,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Gartner by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 801,589 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $422,678,000 after buying an additional 25,315 shares during the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gartner Price Performance

IT opened at $487.44 on Friday. Gartner, Inc. has a 1 year low of $411.15 and a 1 year high of $584.01. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $509.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $509.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.44 billion, a PE ratio of 30.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Gartner (NYSE:IT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information technology services provider reported $5.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $2.23. Gartner had a net margin of 20.00% and a return on equity of 116.56%. The company had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. Gartner’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Gartner, Inc. will post 12.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Gartner

In related news, EVP Claire Herkes sold 411 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $521.24, for a total value of $214,229.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $778,732.56. This trade represents a 21.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP John J. Rinello sold 90 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.51, for a total transaction of $47,745.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,728,932.09. This represents a 2.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,690 shares of company stock worth $2,981,025. 3.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Gartner from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Gartner from $470.00 to $460.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Gartner from $529.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Gartner in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Gartner from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $525.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $552.63.

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.