ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by StockNews.com

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Friday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on NOW. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $1,230.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp lowered ServiceNow from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,210.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho lifted their price target 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $906.00 to $913.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ServiceNow currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,129.93.

ServiceNow Price Performance

ServiceNow stock traded up $5.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $1,023.57. 1,412,120 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,698,288. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $1,083.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $957.36. The firm has a market cap of $210.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 150.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.99. ServiceNow has a 1-year low of $637.99 and a 1-year high of $1,198.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that ServiceNow will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServiceNow declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at ServiceNow

In other news, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 66 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,048.29, for a total value of $69,187.14. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,173,173.83. The trade was a 2.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William R. Mcdermott sold 12,271 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.67, for a total value of $12,242,408.57. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,588,953.65. The trade was a 82.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,731 shares of company stock worth $21,016,751. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ServiceNow

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOW. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its position in shares of ServiceNow by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 497 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in ServiceNow by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 459 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of ServiceNow by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,146 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 2,622 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,779,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TBH Global Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of ServiceNow by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 302 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. 87.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ServiceNow Company 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.