ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Stock Price Down 1.2% – Here’s Why

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) traded down 1.2% on Friday . The company traded as low as $952.00 and last traded at $956.74. 376,594 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 1,596,740 shares. The stock had previously closed at $967.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NOW. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on ServiceNow from $1,200.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered ServiceNow from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $1,300.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of 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 lowered shares of ServiceNow from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ServiceNow presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,129.72.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,058.36 and a 200 day moving average of $976.01. The company has a market capitalization of $192.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 137.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

ServiceNow announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 29th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO William R. Mcdermott sold 384 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $986.64, for a total value of $378,869.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,525,636.96. The trade was a 5.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paul John Smith sold 2,404 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,119,432.20. This trade represents a 27.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,806 shares of company stock valued at $16,065,122 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ServiceNow

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOW. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of ServiceNow during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in ServiceNow during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in ServiceNow during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of ServiceNow in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 725.0% in the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 33 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

ServiceNow Company Profile

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.