Focus Financial Network Inc. Buys 4,344 Shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)

Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its stake in shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) by 32.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,617 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,344 shares during the period. ServiceNow makes up 0.7% of Focus Financial Network Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in ServiceNow were worth $18,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Panoramic Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in ServiceNow during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $294,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ServiceNow in the 4th quarter valued at $207,000. Sycomore Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 25,703 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $27,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715 shares during the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in ServiceNow by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 615 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in ServiceNow in the fourth quarter worth $1,352,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on ServiceNow from $906.00 to $913.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on ServiceNow from $1,250.00 to $1,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on ServiceNow in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $1,332.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $1,300.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $1,200.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ServiceNow has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,129.72.

ServiceNow Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:NOW opened at $1,021.52 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,080.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $966.85. The company has a market capitalization of $210.43 billion, a PE ratio of 149.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.99. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 1-year low of $637.99 and a 1-year high of $1,198.09.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The information technology services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67. ServiceNow had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 17.11%. On average, equities analysts predict that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jacqueline P. Canney sold 66 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,048.29, for a total value of $69,187.14. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,027 shares in the company, valued at $3,173,173.83. The trade was a 2.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO William R. Mcdermott sold 12,271 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.67, for a total transaction of $12,242,408.57. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,588,953.65. This trade represents a 82.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,702 shares of company stock worth $20,965,306 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.