Laurus Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Holdings in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT)

Laurus Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,710 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 1,460 shares during the quarter. Gartner comprises 4.9% of Laurus Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Laurus Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Gartner were worth $10,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IT. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Gartner by 271.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,151,011 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $723,041,000 after buying an additional 1,571,413 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Gartner in the fourth quarter worth about $263,599,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Gartner by 30.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,565,046 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $537,766,000 after purchasing an additional 364,128 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Gartner by 20.3% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,029,738 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $603,766,000 after purchasing an additional 342,228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Gartner by 1,083.3% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 351,703 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $123,205,000 after purchasing an additional 321,981 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Gartner

In other news, EVP Akhil Jain sold 250 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.55, for a total value of $116,137.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,433,777.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Yvonne Genovese sold 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.37, for a total value of $256,127.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,773.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Akhil Jain sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.55, for a total value of $116,137.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,433,777.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,952 shares of company stock valued at $10,598,070 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Gartner Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of IT opened at $481.12 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. Gartner, Inc. has a 12 month low of $292.60 and a 12 month high of $486.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $464.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $421.49. The firm has a market cap of $37.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.50, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 1.29.

Gartner (NYSE:IT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology services provider reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.21. Gartner had a return on equity of 156.35% and a net margin of 14.94%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.70 earnings per share. Gartner’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Gartner, Inc. will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Gartner from $412.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Gartner from $421.00 to $446.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Gartner from $444.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com cut Gartner from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Gartner from $380.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $455.25.

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.