Sustainable Growth Advisers LP Decreases Position in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)

Sustainable Growth Advisers LP cut its stake in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) by 27.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 367,828 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 140,283 shares during the quarter. ServiceNow makes up approximately 2.0% of Sustainable Growth Advisers LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP’s holdings in ServiceNow were worth $389,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOW. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in ServiceNow in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in ServiceNow in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in ServiceNow by 725.0% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 33 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in ServiceNow in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in ServiceNow in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 87.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at ServiceNow

In related news, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 455 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,058.54, for a total value 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 $3,204,200.58. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Gina Mastantuono sold 4,442 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,733,252.20. This trade represents 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. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on NOW. KeyCorp lowered shares of ServiceNow from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $1,300.00 to $1,250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $1,250.00 to $1,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,114.24.

ServiceNow Price Performance

ServiceNow stock opened at $844.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $173.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 123.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,002.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $984.53. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 12-month low of $637.99 and a 12-month high of $1,198.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last released 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%. Equities analysts expect that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ServiceNow announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to purchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically 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.