ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Trading Up 0.3% – Still a Buy?

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) was up 0.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $953.35 and last traded at $945.02. Approximately 346,458 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 1,633,541 shares. The stock had previously closed at $941.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NOW shares. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $1,332.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of ServiceNow from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $1,000.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $950.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,129.72.

ServiceNow Stock Up 0.9 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $1,038.07 and a 200 day moving average of $981.66. The stock has a market cap of $191.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 136.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.99. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The information technology services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $3.67. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 17.11% and a net margin of 12.97%. On average, equities analysts predict that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current year.

ServiceNow declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 292 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,017.55, for a total value of $297,124.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,080,123.85. This trade represents a 8.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Gina Mastantuono sold 4,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $964.70, for a total value of $4,285,197.40. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,351 shares of company stock valued at $20,050,076. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of ServiceNow during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of ServiceNow during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ServiceNow in the third quarter valued at $30,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of ServiceNow in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.