Welch & Forbes LLC Acquires 58,687 Shares of ServiceNow, Inc. $NOW

Key Points

• Welch & Forbes LLC increased its ServiceNow stake by 25.9% in the first quarter, buying 58,687 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 284,864 shares worth about $29.8 million.
• Institutional ownership of ServiceNow remains very high at 87.18%, with several major investors such as Vanguard, State Street, and Price T Rowe also boosting their positions significantly in recent quarters.
• ServiceNow reported quarterly earnings that matched estimates at $0.97 EPS and slightly beat revenue expectations at $3.77 billion, while analysts currently maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $141.47.

Welch & Forbes LLC increased its holdings in shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Free Report) by 25.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 284,864 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 58,687 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC's holdings in ServiceNow were worth $29,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $15,619,771,000 after purchasing an additional 81,752,460 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of ServiceNow by 406.6% in 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 during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of ServiceNow by 371.0% in 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 404.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,512,428 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $3,591,425,000 after buying an additional 18,854,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake 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 worth $3,482,543,000 after buying an additional 17,514,679 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.18% of the company's stock.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

NYSE NOW traded down $1.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $107.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,058,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,996,616. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $102.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.27. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.24 and a 12 month high of $210.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.97. ServiceNow had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ServiceNow news, insider Paul Fipps sold 1,048 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.51, for a total value of $103,238.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,189,212.72. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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. Also, Director Paul Edward Chamberlain sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.23, for a total value of $130,845.00. Following the sale, the director owned 44,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,919,243.90. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 28,071 shares of company stock worth $2,529,956. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on ServiceNow from $200.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on ServiceNow from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $141.47.

Key Stories Impacting ServiceNow

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ServiceNow rallied after reports that a large international electronics company is teaming up with the company on a new AI-powered product that will be available on ServiceNow’s platform, reinforcing its role in enterprise AI. Why ServiceNow Stock Crushed it on Thursday
• Positive Sentiment: Truist Financial raised its price target on ServiceNow from $120 to $130 and kept a buy rating, signaling continued analyst confidence in the company’s growth prospects. Benzinga report on Truist price target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment around software improved as AI spending expectations shifted in favor of application software, helping ServiceNow participate in the broader rotation toward software names. Chip Stocks Drop 12% as Software Rebounds in AI Trade Shift
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market updates described ServiceNow as consolidating or trading flat while investors digested the AI partnership news and a more constructive analyst tone, suggesting a pause after the recent move rather than a fresh fundamental shift. ServiceNow Stock Consolidates as Accenture Launches Agentic AI Offerings
• Negative Sentiment: Friday trading saw ServiceNow slip as investors appeared to take profits and reassess whether the recent AI enthusiasm has already been priced in. ServiceNow Stock Falls Friday: What's Going On?

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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