ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Trading Down 1.7% on Insider Selling

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)’s stock price traded down 1.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $980.00 and last traded at $992.11. 464,314 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 1,601,245 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,009.05.

Specifically, General Counsel Russell S. Elmer sold 336 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,017.55, for a total transaction of $341,896.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 4,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,408,026.60. This trade represents a 7.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 292 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,017.55, for a total value of $297,124.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,080,123.85. This represents a 8.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, CEO William R. Mcdermott sold 1,263 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,019.10, for a total value of $1,287,123.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,564.50. This trade represents a 32.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on ServiceNow from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on ServiceNow from $1,025.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,210.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on ServiceNow from $906.00 to $913.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on ServiceNow in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $1,230.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,129.72.

ServiceNow Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $204.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 145.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,078.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $969.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The information technology services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts forecast that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current year.

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

Institutional Trading of ServiceNow

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of ServiceNow during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of ServiceNow during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of ServiceNow during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of ServiceNow during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.