ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-one analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,100.31.

Several research firms recently issued reports on NOW. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on ServiceNow from $1,230.00 to $1,050.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,048.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on ServiceNow from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,275.00 price objective on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $1,210.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th.

ServiceNow Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NOW stock opened at $860.50 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $964.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $985.75. ServiceNow has a 1-year low of $637.99 and a 1-year high of $1,198.09. The company has a market cap of $177.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 125.99, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

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, meeting the consensus estimate of $3.67. ServiceNow had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 17.11%. On average, equities research analysts expect that ServiceNow will post 8.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ServiceNow announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ServiceNow news, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 455 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,027 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through this link. Also, General Counsel Russell S. Elmer sold 2,511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,012.09, for a total transaction of $2,541,357.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 4,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,384,373.88. This trade represents a 36.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,351 shares of company stock valued at $20,050,076. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServiceNow

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD boosted its position in shares of ServiceNow by 57.0% during the 3rd quarter. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD now owns 2,701 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in ServiceNow during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,802,000. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in ServiceNow by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,154 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $35,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. purchased a new position in ServiceNow in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,090,000. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. acquired a new stake in ServiceNow during the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,071,000. 87.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.