Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in ServiceNow, Inc. by 15.9%, holding approximately 0.18% of the company worth $294.6 million after purchasing an additional 50,821 shares.
• ServiceNow reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.09, exceeding analysts' estimates of $3.57, with a revenue of $3.22 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 22.4%.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic, with a consensus target price of $1,115.20 and most ratings leaning towards a buy, despite one analyst issuing a sell rating.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Free Report) by 15.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 369,977 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 50,821 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.18% of ServiceNow worth $294,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of ServiceNow in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 113.3% in the 1st 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. acquired a new position in shares of ServiceNow in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ServiceNow in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 620.0% in the 1st quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 36 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.18% of the company's stock.

ServiceNow Price Performance

Shares of NOW opened at $855.95 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $178.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.80, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $979.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $940.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information technology services provider reported $4.09 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.13 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $1,300.00 price objective on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on ServiceNow from $1,010.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Scotiabank set a $1,100.00 price target on ServiceNow and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised ServiceNow from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,115.20.

Insider Activity at ServiceNow

In other ServiceNow news, Vice Chairman Nicholas Tzitzon sold 1,171 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,020.00, for a total transaction of $1,194,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,060,000. The trade was a 28.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO William R. Mcdermott sold 2,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,012.01, for a total value of $2,074,620.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 6,614 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,693,434.14. This trade represents a 23.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,587 shares of company stock worth $5,584,027 in the last ninety days. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ServiceNow Company Profile

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.

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