2,455,722 Shares in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,455,722 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,603,360,000. Norges Bank owned 1.19% of ServiceNow as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of ServiceNow during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in ServiceNow in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of ServiceNow in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in ServiceNow during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Nicholas Tzitzon sold 2,945 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $923.72, for a total transaction of $2,720,355.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,370,654.28. This represents a 44.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 3,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,204,200.58. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,351 shares of company stock valued at $20,050,076. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOW opened at $838.54 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $960.38 and a 200-day moving average of $984.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. ServiceNow, Inc. has a twelve month low of $637.99 and a twelve month high of $1,198.09. The firm has a market cap of $172.74 billion, a PE ratio of 122.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.03.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The information technology services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share 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 predict that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ServiceNow announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NOW. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on ServiceNow from $1,000.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $986.00 price objective on ServiceNow in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group lowered their price target on ServiceNow from $1,250.00 to $1,000.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $1,300.00 price objective on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,093.76.

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.