KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires New Holdings in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 79,425 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $84,200,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 499,668.1% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,772,785 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,268,731,000 after acquiring an additional 4,771,830 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 216.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,367,875 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,206,178,000 after acquiring an additional 935,848 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 154,255.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 666,815 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 666,383 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of ServiceNow in the 4th quarter worth approximately $682,468,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 24.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,169,531 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,834,797,000 after acquiring an additional 615,797 shares during the period. 87.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $1,250.00 to $1,000.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,275.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,100.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 455 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,058.54, for a total transaction of $481,635.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,204,200.58. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Gina Mastantuono sold 4,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $964.70, for a total transaction of $4,285,197.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 11,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,733,252.20. The trade was a 28.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,351 shares of company stock valued at $20,050,076. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

NOW stock opened at $827.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $170.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 121.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.03. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 12 month low of $637.99 and a 12 month high of $1,198.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $971.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $983.30.

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

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

ServiceNow 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.