ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) Shares Bought by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,130 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,675 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in ServiceNow were worth $82,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in ServiceNow during the 4th quarter valued at $2,603,360,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in ServiceNow by 154,255.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 666,815 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 666,383 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of ServiceNow in the fourth quarter valued at about $682,468,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,955,924 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $8,434,235,000 after acquiring an additional 509,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 36.7% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,830,419 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,940,464,000 after acquiring an additional 491,861 shares in the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

Shares of NOW traded up $5.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1,040.22. 1,156,504 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,517,798. The business's 50-day moving average price is $863.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $973.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. ServiceNow, Inc. has a twelve month low of $637.99 and a twelve month high of $1,198.09. The company has a market capitalization of $215.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 152.30, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.97.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The information technology services provider reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.26. The firm 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ServiceNow declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 29th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at ServiceNow

In related news, CEO William R. Mcdermott sold 384 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $986.64, for a total value of $378,869.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,614 shares in the company, valued at $6,525,636.96. The trade was a 5.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paul John Smith sold 2,404 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.05, for a total value of $2,356,040.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,244 shares in the company, valued at $6,119,432.20. This trade represents a 27.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,872 shares of company stock worth $13,261,400 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NOW shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $1,010.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $1,280.00 to $1,025.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target (up from $970.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on ServiceNow from $1,275.00 to $900.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $1,048.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,062.50.

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.