Gartner (NYSE:IT) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 1,099,820 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 192% from the previous session’s volume of 376,963 shares.The stock last traded at $447.90 and had previously closed at $461.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on IT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Gartner in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Gartner from $564.00 to $555.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays upgraded Gartner from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $525.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Gartner from $579.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Gartner from $470.00 to $460.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gartner currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $552.63.

Gartner Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $34.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.93, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $506.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $509.47.

Gartner (NYSE:IT) last issued 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 return on equity of 116.56% and a net margin of 20.00%. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.04 EPS. Gartner’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gartner, Inc. will post 12.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP John J. Rinello sold 90 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.51, for a total value of $47,745.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,728,932.09. This represents a 2.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Eileen Serra sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.77, for a total value of $587,724.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $796,855.79. This trade represents a 42.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IT. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Gartner by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 16,725 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $8,103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Gartner during the 4th quarter worth about $366,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in Gartner by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 1,137 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Gartner by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 31,626 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $15,322,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Gartner by 15.5% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 105,769 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $53,599,000 after acquiring an additional 14,167 shares during the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.