Saturna Capital Corp Grows Position in ServiceNow, Inc. $NOW

Key Points

• Saturna Capital Corp increased its ServiceNow stake by 21.4% in the first quarter, buying 203,138 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 1,151,313 shares worth about $120.4 million.
• Institutional ownership in ServiceNow remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding about 87.18% of the stock. Several large firms, including Vanguard, State Street, and Price T Rowe, also significantly boosted their positions.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally constructive: ServiceNow has a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $139.12, though some firms are more cautious and a few recent reports flagged earnings uncertainty and security concerns.

Saturna Capital Corp increased its stake in shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Free Report) by 21.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,151,313 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 203,138 shares during the quarter. ServiceNow comprises about 1.7% of Saturna Capital Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Saturna Capital Corp owned approximately 0.11% of ServiceNow worth $120,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NOW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in ServiceNow by 404.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 101,963,384 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $15,619,771,000 after buying an additional 81,752,460 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in ServiceNow by 406.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,896,597 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $7,337,280,000 after purchasing an additional 38,441,898 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in ServiceNow by 371.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,395,663 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $4,962,692,000 after purchasing an additional 25,517,218 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in ServiceNow by 404.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,512,428 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $3,591,425,000 after purchasing an additional 18,854,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of ServiceNow by 335.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,733,483 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $3,482,543,000 after buying an additional 17,514,679 shares in the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on NOW shares. Wolfe Research set a $125.00 price target on ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Argus lowered their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $180.00 to $134.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, CLSA started coverage on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Monday. They set an "underperform" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ServiceNow presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $139.12.

Key ServiceNow News

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies expects ServiceNow to deliver solid second-quarter results, with subscription revenue and cRPO likely coming in above guidance. The firm also sees a possible raise to full-year subscription revenue guidance, supported by strong execution, early contract renewals, and AI-related demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on ServiceNow to $141 and kept an overweight rating, signaling confidence in upside if earnings and guidance remain strong. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley said software sentiment has become “too negative” and named top picks in the sector, reinforcing the idea that high-quality software names like ServiceNow could rebound if the market mood improves. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: ServiceNow is in the spotlight ahead of earnings, with mixed analyst views and a bearish technical setup adding uncertainty into the report. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: ServiceNow is expected to report after the market close on July 22, and several articles frame the stock as a high-stakes earnings setup rather than a clear fundamental change. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: CLSA initiated coverage with a bearish view, which has added pressure ahead of earnings and contributed to cautious investor sentiment around the name. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A separate security report said a critical ServiceNow code-execution flaw is being exploited in attacks, which could create near-term reputational and security concerns for the company. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at ServiceNow

In other news, Director Anita M. Sands sold 16,445 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.14, for a total transaction of $1,482,352.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,712,312.60. This trade represents a 35.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Paul Fipps sold 1,048 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.51, for a total value of $103,238.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 12,072 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,212.72. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Insiders sold a total of 28,071 shares of company stock worth $2,529,956 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ServiceNow Price Performance

Shares of NOW stock opened at $102.04 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.96. ServiceNow, Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.24 and a twelve month high of $210.20.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.97. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.75 billion. ServiceNow had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. On average, analysts predict that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ServiceNow 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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