Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stake in ServiceNow, Inc. $NOW

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB sharply increased its ServiceNow stake by 403% in the fourth quarter, ending with 824,376 shares valued at about $126.3 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 87.18% of ServiceNow shares, and several other firms also recently raising their positions.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on ServiceNow despite some target cuts, with a Moderate Buy consensus and a $141.89 average price target; the company is also being highlighted as a potential AI beneficiary.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Free Report) by 403.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 824,376 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after buying an additional 660,496 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.08% of ServiceNow worth $126,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NOW. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of ServiceNow by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,753 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,919,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of ServiceNow by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 837 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $861,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its position in shares of ServiceNow by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 1,519 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,562,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of ServiceNow by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,922 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,976,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC raised its position in shares of ServiceNow by 205.1% during the 2nd quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 906 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $931,000 after buying an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOW has been the topic of several research reports. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $157.00 price objective on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $188.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $141.89.

Insider Activity

In other ServiceNow news, insider Paul Fipps sold 1,048 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.51, for a total value of $103,238.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 12,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,189,212.72. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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. Also, Director Paul Edward Chamberlain sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.23, for a total transaction of $130,845.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 44,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,919,243.90. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 41,408 shares of company stock worth $3,927,369 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

ServiceNow Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOW opened at $103.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $106.73 billion, a PE ratio of 61.69, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.82. The company's fifty day moving average is $100.18 and its 200 day moving average is $128.05. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.24 and a 52 week high of $211.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

ServiceNow News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reinstated coverage on ServiceNow with a Buy rating and a $130 price target, calling the company a likely AI beneficiary in the “agentic AI” era. BofA Reinstates Coverage of ServiceNow, Salesforce. It Says 1 Is an AI Beneficiary.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and media reports highlighted that ServiceNow is being viewed as one of the software names best positioned to benefit from AI, with concerns about AI disruption to its business model seen as overblown. ServiceNow Stock Has Been Battered By AI Disruption Worries. These Experts Think AI Will Actually Boost Its Business
• Positive Sentiment: ServiceNow also announced a global partnership with Experian to embed data and decisioning tools into its AI platform, supporting autonomous AI agents and strengthening its enterprise workflow offering. ServiceNow (NOW) Partners With Experian to Power Autonomous AI Agents With Trusted Data
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader commentary on the software sector suggested the group may have been over-sold, with Wall Street rotating back into application software names like ServiceNow. ServiceNow’s stock heads for best day in a year — flashing a green light for the software sector
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports still pointed to lingering “SaaSpocalypse” and AI-disruption worries, noting that ServiceNow has been under pressure in recent months despite the latest rebound. ServiceNow stock flashes a death cross amid rising SaaSpocalypse concerns

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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