Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 18,854,775 Shares of ServiceNow, Inc. $NOW

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management dramatically boosted its ServiceNow stake in Q4, increasing holdings by 404.8% to 23.5 million shares worth about $3.59 billion. The firm now owns 2.25% of the company.
• Several other institutional investors also raised their positions, and 87.18% of ServiceNow stock is held by institutions. This suggests continued heavy interest from large investors despite recent volatility.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on ServiceNow, with a consensus Moderate Buy and average price target of $141.85, though some firms have trimmed targets. The stock also saw insider selling and has recently faced concerns over AI disruption and margin pressure.

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Free Report) by 404.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,512,428 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,854,775 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.25% of ServiceNow worth $3,591,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of ServiceNow by 478.7% during the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,651 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,091,000 after purchasing an additional 11,292 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of ServiceNow by 383.2% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 6,885 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 5,460 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in ServiceNow by 526.2% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 7,295 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,118,000 after acquiring an additional 6,130 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc increased its holdings in ServiceNow by 370.6% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 240 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in ServiceNow by 429.2% in the 4th quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 505,757 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $77,477,000 after acquiring an additional 410,188 shares during the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Argus reduced their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $180.00 to $134.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $226.00 to $171.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $141.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Anita M. Sands sold 16,445 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.14, for a total transaction of $1,482,352.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,712,312.60. This represents a 35.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul Fipps sold 1,048 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.51, for a total transaction of $103,238.48. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,072 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,212.72. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,071 shares of company stock valued at $2,529,956. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key ServiceNow News

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated ServiceNow as a top buy, saying AI is a growth engine for the company and highlighting it as better positioned than Salesforce. This kind of analyst support can lift investor sentiment. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: A new Zacks article and broader market buzz show ServiceNow is trending with investors, suggesting renewed interest in the stock after recent weakness. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: ServiceNow presented at the Jefferies Software, Internet & AI Conference, keeping the company in focus but without any clearly reported new financial catalyst in the transcript headline alone. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary about institutional order flows and software sector weakness provides broader context, but it is not a direct company-specific driver. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage also notes that investors remain worried AI could disrupt ServiceNow’s business model, and the stock had already fallen sharply earlier in the week after margin concerns despite a revenue beat. Article Title

ServiceNow Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE NOW opened at $102.15 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $98.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.82. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.24 and a 12-month high of $211.48.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.97. The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.75 billion. ServiceNow had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The business's revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ServiceNow Company Profile

ServiceNow NYSE: NOW is a cloud computing company that builds enterprise software to manage digital workflows and automate business processes. Its offerings are designed to replace manual work and legacy systems with cloud-based, service-oriented applications that support IT operations, customer service, human resources, security response and other enterprise functions.

The company's flagship product family is the Now Platform, a suite of subscription software and platform services that includes IT Service Management (ITSM), IT Operations Management (ITOM), IT Business Management (ITBM), Customer Service Management (CSM), HR Service Delivery, Security Operations and Asset Management.

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