Free Trial

Polen Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in ServiceNow, Inc. $NOW

ServiceNow logo with Computer and Technology background
Image from MarketBeat Media, LLC.

Key Points

  • Polen Capital Management dramatically increased its ServiceNow stake by 405.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 5.68 million shares worth about $870.2 million. ServiceNow became its 11th-largest holding and about 3.7% of its portfolio.
  • ServiceNow continues to attract institutional interest, with 87.18% of shares owned by hedge funds and other institutions. Several other funds also reported increased positions in the stock.
  • Recent company news has been largely positive on AI expansion, including partnerships with IBM and Phenom, while analysts say demand remains resilient. However, the stock also faces caution from a reported security vulnerability and concerns about its premium valuation.
  • Five stocks we like better than ServiceNow.

Polen Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Free Report) by 405.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,680,788 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,556,712 shares during the period. ServiceNow comprises about 3.7% of Polen Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Polen Capital Management LLC owned about 0.54% of ServiceNow worth $870,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NOW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of ServiceNow by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,753 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,919,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 4.2% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 837 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $861,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 15.5% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 1,519 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,562,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 2.2% in the second 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC raised its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 205.1% in the second quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 906 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $931,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ServiceNow News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

ServiceNow Stock Down 2.9%

ServiceNow stock opened at $103.03 on Friday. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.24 and a 1-year high of $211.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $106.23 billion, a PE ratio of 61.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's fifty day moving average is $99.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.17.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ServiceNow news, insider Paul Fipps sold 1,048 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.51, for a total value of $103,238.48. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 12,072 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,212.72. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 8,927 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.60, for a total value of $799,859.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 29,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,645,977.60. This represents a 23.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 28,071 shares of company stock valued at $2,529,956 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NOW shares. Argus reduced their price objective on ServiceNow from $180.00 to $134.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on ServiceNow from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Capital One Financial increased their price objective on ServiceNow from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, HSBC reduced their price objective on ServiceNow from $226.00 to $171.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $141.85.

Read Our Latest Research Report on ServiceNow

About ServiceNow

(Free Report)

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.

Read More

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NOW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Free Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW)

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.

Should You Invest $1,000 in ServiceNow Right Now?

Before you consider ServiceNow, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and ServiceNow wasn't on the list.

While ServiceNow currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here

Options Trading Made Easy - Download Now Cover

Learn the basics of options trading and how to use them to boost returns and manage risk with this free report from MarketBeat. Click the link below to get your free copy.

Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.

Featured Articles and Offers

Recent Videos

Stock Lists

All Stock Lists

Investing Tools

Calendars and Tools

Search Headlines