Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Takes Position in ServiceNow, Inc. $NOW

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 18,412 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,925,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in ServiceNow by 404.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 101,963,384 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $15,619,771,000 after buying an additional 81,752,460 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 406.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,896,597 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $7,337,280,000 after purchasing an additional 38,441,898 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of ServiceNow by 371.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,395,663 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,962,692,000 after purchasing an additional 25,517,218 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in ServiceNow by 404.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,512,428 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,591,425,000 after purchasing an additional 18,854,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in ServiceNow by 335.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,733,483 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,482,543,000 after buying an additional 17,514,679 shares during the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ServiceNow news, Director Paul Edward Chamberlain sold 1,500 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.23, for a total value of $130,845.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 44,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,919,243.90. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Paul Fipps sold 1,048 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.51, for a total value of $103,238.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 12,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,189,212.72. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 28,071 shares of company stock worth $2,529,956 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NOW shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on ServiceNow from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $157.00 target price on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of ServiceNow from $195.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Truist Financial reduced their price target on ServiceNow from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on ServiceNow from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.68.

ServiceNow Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOW opened at $106.06 on Monday. ServiceNow, Inc. has a one year low of $81.24 and a one year high of $211.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $109.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $100.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.60.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.97. ServiceNow had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. ServiceNow’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Key ServiceNow News

Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim upgraded ServiceNow to Buy, saying AI fears have been overdone and that the stock offers meaningful upside from current levels. ServiceNow (NOW) Rating Upgraded by Guggenheim to Buy from Neutral
• Positive Sentiment: Other commentary framed ServiceNow as a “golden opportunity” for patient investors, reinforcing the view that the recent selloff may be excessive relative to its growth outlook. ServiceNow (NOW): A Golden Opportunity for Patient Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors continue to highlight demand for ServiceNow’s AI Control Tower and AI-enabled workflow tools, which supports the company’s long-term growth narrative. ServiceNow Trades at Premium Valuation: How to Play the Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles discuss ServiceNow’s premium valuation, which may limit near-term upside even as growth remains solid. Does Guggenheim’s Upgrade Reframe ServiceNow (NOW) as an AI Workflow Enabler Rather Than a Disruption Risk?
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports still point to concerns about AI disruption, delayed large deal closures, acquisition-related margin pressure, and overall valuation risk, which could temper enthusiasm. ServiceNow Stock Plunges 50% — Why NOW Stock Is a Buy Here

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) is a cloud computing company that builds enterprise software to manage digital workflows and automate business processes. Its offerings are designed to replace manual work and legacy systems with cloud-based, service-oriented applications that support IT operations, customer service, human resources, security response and other enterprise functions.

The company’s flagship product family is the Now Platform, a suite of subscription software and platform services that includes IT Service Management (ITSM), IT Operations Management (ITOM), IT Business Management (ITBM), Customer Service Management (CSM), HR Service Delivery, Security Operations and Asset Management.