ING Groep NV Has $202.06 Million Stake in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV increased its holdings in ServiceNow, Inc. by 448% in the first quarter, owning approximately 253,804 shares valued at $202 million, making it the 15th largest position in their portfolio.
• ServiceNow's quarterly earnings beat estimates, reporting $4.09 EPS against a consensus of $3.57, and achieved revenue of $3.22 billion, reflecting a 22.4% year-over-year increase.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded ServiceNow, with price targets reaching up to $1,300, resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,115.20.

ING Groep NV grew its stake in shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Free Report) by 448.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 253,804 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after buying an additional 207,493 shares during the quarter. ServiceNow comprises 1.4% of ING Groep NV's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. ING Groep NV owned about 0.12% of ServiceNow worth $202,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOW. 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 during the last quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new position in ServiceNow in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of ServiceNow during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its stake in ServiceNow by 620.0% in the first quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 36 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ServiceNow in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 87.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NOW shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. FBN Securities raised shares of ServiceNow to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,150.00 price objective (up previously from $1,100.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $1,300.00 price objective on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,115.20.

ServiceNow Price Performance

Shares of NOW traded up $5.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $911.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,067,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,630,136. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $990.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $947.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.74, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.93. 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 fifty-two week low of $678.66 and a fifty-two week high of $1,198.09.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,020.00, for a total value of $147,900.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,027 shares in the company, valued at $3,087,540. This trade represents a 4.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lawrence Jackson sold 757 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $990.50, for a total transaction of $749,808.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 588 shares of the company's stock, valued at $582,414. This represents a 56.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,990 shares of company stock worth $6,047,567. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.