Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Buys 1,219 Shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in ServiceNow, Inc. by 12%, acquiring an additional 1,219 shares, bringing its total holdings to over 11,390 shares valued at approximately $9.07 million.
• ServiceNow's stock saw a 2.8% decline, trading at around $968.05, while analysts have issued target prices between $1,003.00 and $1,300.00, collectively rating the stock with an average of "Moderate Buy".
• Insider trading activity included Director Anita M. Sands selling 239 shares for approximately $250,950, which represented a 2.25% decrease in her ownership stake.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Free Report) by 12.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,390 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,219 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in ServiceNow were worth $9,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 459 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 577 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC grew its position in ServiceNow by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 1,092 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,157,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Sepio Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 359 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in ServiceNow by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. now owns 2,392 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,536,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at ServiceNow

In related news, Director Anita M. Sands sold 239 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,050.00, for a total value of $250,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,404 shares in the company, valued at $10,924,200. This trade represents a 2.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Russell S. Elmer sold 62 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.00, for a total transaction of $63,426.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 4,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,431,636. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,003 shares of company stock valued at $6,015,106. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on NOW shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $1,200.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $1,160.00 to $1,234.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,003.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on ServiceNow from $1,150.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $1,300.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,114.87.

ServiceNow Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE:NOW opened at $968.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 121.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.94. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 1-year low of $678.66 and a 1-year high of $1,198.09. The company's fifty day moving average is $1,000.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $952.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.09.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information technology services provider reported $4.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 13.78%. The business's revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current year.

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.

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