Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Takes Position in ServiceNow, Inc. $NOW

Key Points

• Manning & Napier Advisors acquired 996,908 ServiceNow shares worth approximately $99.7 million, making NOW a 1.3% holding and its 27th-largest position. Institutional investors collectively own 87.18% of the company.
• ServiceNow exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.90 in EPS versus $0.86 expected and $3.99 billion in revenue, up 24% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $144.24.
• ServiceNow shares opened at $128.09, while analyst opinions remained broadly positive: 36 analysts rate the stock a Buy, compared with three Holds and two Sells. A company director separately sold 1,500 shares worth $188,400 under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 996,908 shares of the information technology services provider's stock, valued at approximately $99,661,000. ServiceNow accounts for about 1.3% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC owned 0.10% of ServiceNow as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Covenant Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in ServiceNow by 169.2% during the 4th quarter. Covenant Asset Management LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $3,196,000 after acquiring an additional 13,114 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of ServiceNow during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,020,992,000. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in ServiceNow by 411.7% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 47,955 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $7,346,000 after purchasing an additional 38,583 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in ServiceNow by 387.7% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 45,630 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $6,990,000 after purchasing an additional 36,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in ServiceNow by 53.3% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,018,036 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $106,436,000 after buying an additional 353,749 shares during the period. 87.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ServiceNow Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of ServiceNow stock opened at $128.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $132.45 billion, a PE ratio of 80.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.24 and a 1 year high of $194.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $109.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.79.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.93 billion. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 16.45% and a net margin of 11.34%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.24 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on NOW shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ServiceNow from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. CLSA began coverage on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Monday, July 20th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $134.00 price objective (up from $132.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ServiceNow currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ServiceNow news, Director Paul Edward Chamberlain sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $188,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 46,690 shares in the company, valued at $5,864,264. This trade represents a 3.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About ServiceNow

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source