Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Sells 1,721 Shares of ServiceNow, Inc. $NOW

Key Points

• Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. reduced its holdings in ServiceNow, Inc. by 30.4%, selling 1,721 shares during the 2nd quarter, leaving it with a total of 3,938 shares worth approximately $4,048,000.
• ServiceNow reported better-than-expected earnings for the last quarter with an EPS of $4.09, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.52, and observed a 22.4% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Several analysts upgraded their price targets for ServiceNow, with Bank of America raising its target from $1,110.00 to $1,200.00, reflecting strong confidence in the stock's performance.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. cut its holdings in shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Free Report) by 30.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,938 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 1,721 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s holdings in ServiceNow were worth $4,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOW. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 113.3% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 32 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new position in ServiceNow during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its holdings in ServiceNow by 620.0% during the 1st quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 36 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of ServiceNow in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in ServiceNow during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. 87.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ServiceNow Stock Up 0.4%

NOW opened at $939.60 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.92. ServiceNow, Inc. has a one year low of $678.66 and a one year high of $1,198.09. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $916.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $939.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.12 billion. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 13.78%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.13 EPS. Analysts anticipate that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at ServiceNow

In other news, Vice Chairman Nicholas Tzitzon sold 1,719 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $866.45, for a total transaction of $1,489,427.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,599,350. This trade represents a 36.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO William R. Mcdermott sold 5,825 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.63, for a total value of $5,339,369.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 6,614 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,062,590.82. This represents a 46.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,737 shares of company stock worth $16,798,825. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on NOW. Bank of America boosted their price target on ServiceNow from $1,110.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on ServiceNow from $1,120.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $1,200.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,150.00 target price (up previously from $1,100.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ServiceNow currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,124.17.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.