Trexquant Investment LP Purchases Shares of 8,782 Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT)

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 8,782 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,255,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Gartner by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,268,639 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,490,378,000 after buying an additional 100,917 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Gartner by 1.1% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 36,258 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Gartner by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,063,577 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $998,400,000 after purchasing an additional 45,219 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gartner by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,012,799 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $975,141,000 after purchasing an additional 11,657 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Gartner by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,662,005 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $805,192,000 after purchasing an additional 187,854 shares during the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gartner Price Performance

NYSE:IT opened at $383.12 on Friday. Gartner, Inc. has a 52 week low of $382.23 and a 52 week high of $584.01. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $482.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $502.15. The firm has a market cap of $29.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Gartner

In related news, SVP John J. Rinello sold 90 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,728,932.09. This trade represents a 2.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Eileen Serra sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 $796,855.79. The trade was a 42.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on IT. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Gartner from $565.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays dropped their price target on Gartner from $600.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of Gartner from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Gartner from $564.00 to $555.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Gartner from $605.00 to $557.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $525.38.

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.