R Squared Ltd Boosts Holdings in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)

Key Points

• R Squared Ltd significantly increased its stake in ServiceNow, Inc. by 4,400.0% in the first quarter, now holding 900 shares valued at $717,000.
• Wall Street analysts have positive outlooks for ServiceNow, with multiple brokerages raising their price targets and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• In the latest earnings report, ServiceNow outperformed expectations, reporting $4.09 EPS and $3.22 billion in revenue, both exceeding analyst predictions.

R Squared Ltd grew its stake in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Free Report) by 4,400.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 900 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the quarter. ServiceNow makes up 0.8% of R Squared Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. R Squared Ltd's holdings in ServiceNow were worth $717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NOW. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in ServiceNow by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 459 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its position in shares of ServiceNow by 2.5% during the first quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 450 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC lifted its holdings in ServiceNow by 3.2% in the first quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 356 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 577 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sepio Capital LP grew its position in ServiceNow by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 359 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ServiceNow Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:NOW traded up $5.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $911.07. 1,067,095 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,683,416. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $189.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.74, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $990.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $947.93. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 12-month low of $678.66 and a 12-month high of $1,198.09.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information technology services provider reported $4.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.52. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 13.78%. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.13 earnings per share. ServiceNow's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO William R. Mcdermott sold 2,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,012.01, for a total value of $2,074,620.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,614 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,693,434.14. This represents a 23.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Gina Mastantuono sold 292 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $985.00, for a total value of $287,620.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,030,030. This represents a 2.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,990 shares of company stock worth $6,047,567 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NOW shares. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,150.00 price target (up previously from $1,100.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $1,200.00 price objective on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $1,050.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ServiceNow presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,115.20.

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.