ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,129.72.

NOW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on ServiceNow from $1,070.00 to $1,210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup decreased their target price on ServiceNow from $1,432.00 to $1,426.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on ServiceNow from $1,050.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James assumed coverage on ServiceNow in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded ServiceNow from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO William R. Mcdermott sold 1,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,019.10, for a total transaction of $1,287,123.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,564.50. This trade represents a 32.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Gina Mastantuono sold 4,442 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $964.70, for a total value of $4,285,197.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,733,252.20. This trade represents a 28.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,351 shares of company stock worth $20,050,076. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ServiceNow in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $153,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ServiceNow in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $198,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of ServiceNow in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $240,389,000. Brucke Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ServiceNow in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $320,000. Finally, Omnia Family Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ServiceNow in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

ServiceNow Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NOW opened at $929.56 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 136.10, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,038.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $981.66. ServiceNow has a 52-week low of $637.99 and a 52-week high of $1,198.09.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The information technology services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $3.67. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 17.11% and a net margin of 12.97%. Analysts expect that ServiceNow will post 8.93 EPS for the current year.

ServiceNow declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to buy up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.