Erste Asset Management GmbH Purchases 8,316 Shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)

Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its position in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 81,013 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,316 shares during the quarter. ServiceNow makes up about 1.0% of Erste Asset Management GmbH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in ServiceNow were worth $87,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOW. United Bank bought a new position in shares of ServiceNow during the 3rd quarter valued at about $480,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 391 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,536,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 269 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of ServiceNow in the 3rd quarter valued at about $216,000. Institutional investors own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOW opened at $844.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $173.92 billion, a PE ratio of 123.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,002.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $984.53. ServiceNow, Inc. has a one year low of $637.99 and a one year high of $1,198.09. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The information technology services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $3.67. ServiceNow had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 17.11%. As a group, equities analysts predict that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Activity at ServiceNow

In related news, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 455 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,058.54, for a total transaction of $481,635.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,204,200.58. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO William R. Mcdermott sold 1,263 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,019.10, for a total transaction of $1,287,123.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,564.50. The trade was a 32.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,351 shares of company stock valued at $20,050,076 over the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on NOW. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $1,300.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $1,025.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,048.00 price target on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $1,230.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,114.24.

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.