Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in ServiceNow, Inc. $NOW

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group boosted its stake in ServiceNow by 354.2% in Q4 to 1,593,131 shares worth about $244.1 million, representing roughly 0.15% of the company.
• Institutional ownership is very high (about 87.18%), while insiders sold 25,164 shares worth ~$2.5 million last quarter and now own only 0.34% of the stock.
• ServiceNow is pushing AI initiatives—launching "Otto" and expanding partnerships (NVIDIA, Microsoft, etc.)—and reported +22.1% revenue growth last quarter, with mixed analyst reactions but a consensus "Moderate Buy" target of $146.35.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Free Report) by 354.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,593,131 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,242,403 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.15% of ServiceNow worth $244,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in ServiceNow by 429.5% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 60,301 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $9,237,000 after acquiring an additional 48,912 shares during the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 381.0% in the 4th quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,685 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 3,711 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 871.7% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,268 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,113,000 after acquiring an additional 6,520 shares during the last quarter. FWG Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 471.3% during the 4th quarter. FWG Holdings LLC now owns 5,107 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 4,213 shares during the period. Finally, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 338.7% during the 4th quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 175,415 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $26,872,000 after purchasing an additional 135,432 shares during the period. 87.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at ServiceNow

In other news, insider Kevin Thomas Mcbride sold 1,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.71, for a total transaction of $147,994.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 26,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,781,652.94. This trade represents a 5.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Paul Fipps sold 3,696 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.77, for a total value of $376,141.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at $820,367.97. The trade was a 31.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,164 shares of company stock valued at $2,497,021. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOW opened at $92.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $94.86 billion, a PE ratio of 54.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.82. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $103.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.96. ServiceNow, Inc. has a one year low of $81.24 and a one year high of $211.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

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, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 12.59%.The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. ServiceNow's quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp set a $85.00 price objective on shares of ServiceNow and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on ServiceNow from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on ServiceNow from $188.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on ServiceNow from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on ServiceNow from $200.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.35.

Key Headlines Impacting ServiceNow

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Launched "Otto" and expanded the AI Control Tower and Autonomous Workforce — new products (Autonomous CRM, Autonomous Security & Risk, AI Control Tower enhancements) position ServiceNow as an enterprise "AI control tower" that can drive higher subscription monetization. ServiceNow Otto creates the unified AI experience for the enterprise
• Positive Sentiment: Expanded strategic partnerships (NVIDIA, Microsoft, FedEx, Lenovo, Ataccama, Cloudera) to operationalize and govern agentic AI across desktops, data centers and supply chains — lowers friction for large customers to deploy AI at scale. ServiceNow extends agentic AI governance from desktops to data centers with NVIDIA
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street reaction: several firms raised or reaffirmed bullish ratings / price targets (Evercore, Barclays, Capital One, Citi, DA Davidson among others), signaling analyst confidence that AI product momentum can re‑rate multiples. ServiceNow (NOW) Stock Has More Than 100% Upside, Says Analyst Following Investor Day
• Neutral Sentiment: Management reiterated aggressive long‑term revenue ambition (targeting roughly $30B in subscription revenue by 2030) and highlighted Now Assist ARR progress — a clear growth target but distant and dependent on successful enterprise rollouts. ServiceNow lays out path to $30 billion in annual subscription revenue as AI bets accelerate
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution: Wolfe Research trimmed its price target and noted more conservative near‑term guidance tied to delayed on‑premise deals in certain regions — a reminder that some revenue is timing‑sensitive. Wolfe Research Lowers PT on ServiceNow (NOW) stock
• Negative Sentiment: Investor skepticism about acquisition pace and integration (recent M&A spree for AI firms) could cap multiple expansion if execution or margins slip. ServiceNow CEO sends blunt message on acquisitions

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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