Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Free Report) by 136.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,944 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,696 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in ServiceNow were worth $30,684,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NOW. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in ServiceNow in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in ServiceNow during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in ServiceNow during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 725.0% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 33 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ServiceNow during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.18% of the company's stock.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

Shares of NOW traded up $2.47 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $945.33. The company had a trading volume of 506,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,504,652. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 138.41, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $837.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $967.68. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 52-week low of $637.99 and a 52-week high of $1,198.09.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The information technology services provider reported $4.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.09 billion. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 17.11% and a net margin of 12.97%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.41 EPS. On average, analysts expect that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current year.

ServiceNow announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 29th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 354 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $804.61, for a total transaction of $284,831.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,027 shares in the company, valued at $2,435,554.47. This trade represents a 10.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Deborah Black sold 598 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.23, for a total value of $562,257.54. Following the sale, the director now owns 428 shares in the company, valued at $402,418.44. This trade represents a 58.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,618 shares of company stock worth $21,132,878. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on NOW. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $990.00 to $950.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $975.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on ServiceNow in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,003.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,032.94.

ServiceNow 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.