ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) Price Target Cut to $1,250.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) had its price objective lowered by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $1,300.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the information technology services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 22.09% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on ServiceNow from $900.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on ServiceNow from $1,200.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim reissued a “sell” rating and set a $716.00 price objective on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $1,070.00 to $1,210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $1,050.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,129.93.

ServiceNow Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NOW opened at $1,023.88 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,084.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $952.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.92 billion, a PE ratio of 150.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 0.99. ServiceNow has a 12-month low of $637.99 and a 12-month high of $1,198.09.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last issued its earnings results 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 17.56%. As a group, research analysts predict that ServiceNow will post 8.98 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Transactions at ServiceNow

In other news, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 76 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.94, for a total transaction of $76,831.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,060,115.38. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO William R. Mcdermott sold 12,271 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.67, for a total value of $12,242,408.57. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,588,953.65. The trade was a 82.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,731 shares of company stock worth $21,016,751. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ServiceNow

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NOW. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of ServiceNow during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 77.3% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 39 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ServiceNow during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in ServiceNow during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its holdings in ServiceNow by 46.7% in the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 44 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.