Optas LLC Increases Stock Position in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)

Optas LLC increased its stake in shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 951 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in ServiceNow were worth $1,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 7.4% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 41,964 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $37,532,000 after acquiring an additional 2,900 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,378,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the period. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ServiceNow during the 3rd quarter valued at about $221,000. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ServiceNow in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ServiceNow in the third quarter worth approximately $206,000. Institutional investors own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $860.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on ServiceNow from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on ServiceNow from $950.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on ServiceNow in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $1,230.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $1,250.00 to $1,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,129.93.

Insider Activity at ServiceNow

In other news, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 66 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,048.29, for a total transaction of $69,187.14. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,173,173.83. This represents a 2.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Kevin Thomas Mcbride sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.97, for a total value of $102,397.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,539,864.29. This represents a 2.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,731 shares of company stock worth $21,016,751 in the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

ServiceNow Trading Up 0.4 %

NOW opened at $1,021.99 on Tuesday. ServiceNow, Inc. has a one year low of $637.99 and a one year high of $1,198.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $210.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 149.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $1,083.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $957.36.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The information technology services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 17.11% and a net margin of 12.97%. On average, equities analysts forecast that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.94 EPS for the current year.

ServiceNow declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 29th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to purchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.