ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Shares Down 1.9% on Insider Selling

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)’s stock price fell 1.9% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $977.63 and last traded at $978.85. 416,398 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 1,601,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $997.48.

Specifically, CEO William R. Mcdermott sold 384 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $986.64, for a total transaction of $378,869.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,614 shares in the company, valued at $6,525,636.96. This trade represents a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paul John Smith sold 2,404 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.05, for a total value of $2,356,040.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,119,432.20. This trade represents a 27.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, insider Paul John Smith sold 1,184 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.08, for a total value of $1,160,414.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,120,256.32. The trade was a 21.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $1,070.00 to $1,210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $1,300.00 to $1,250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on ServiceNow from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded ServiceNow from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,129.72.

ServiceNow Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,058.36 and a 200 day moving average of $976.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $193.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 137.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.99.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The information technology services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 17.11% and a net margin of 12.97%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current year.

ServiceNow declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 29th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ServiceNow

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOW. Quarry LP acquired a new position in ServiceNow in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of ServiceNow during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in ServiceNow in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in ServiceNow during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of ServiceNow during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. 87.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow, Inc provides end to-end intelligent workflow automation platform solutions for digital businesses in the North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates the Now platform for end-to-end digital transformation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic process automation, process mining, performance analytics, and collaboration and development tools.