Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund” fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The fund increased 17.6% (Institutional Shares) in the fourth quarter compared to a 14.2% gain for the Russell 1000 Growth Index and an 11.7% increase for the S&P 500 Index. For the full year, the fund appreciated 57.6% compared to 42.7% and 26.3% returns for the indexes, respectively. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund featured stocks such as ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) in the fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) is an enterprise cloud computing solutions provider. On February 22, 2024, ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) stock closed at $769.21 per share. One-month return of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) was 0.33%, and its shares gained 74.14% of their value over the last 52 weeks. ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) has a market capitalization of $157.688 billion.
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund stated the following regarding ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
“ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) offers cloud-based solutions that improve workflow efficiency through automation and digitalization. The stock rose 26.4% in the fourth quarter, finishing the year up 82.0%. Stock appreciation was supported by strong quarterly results above expectations with 24.5% year-over-year subscription revenue growth in constant currency and 30% non-GAAP operating margins despite ongoing macro complexities. In addition, the stock benefited from growing investor expectations that the company would benefit from the integration of GenAI technology into its products, and a rise in software stocks more broadly. Management noted that key business drivers included strong traction with government customers, improving momentum with new customers, and budget consolidation into platforms like ServiceNow. In addition, the company launched its GenAI-supported product line, sold under a new higher-priced Pro Plus sku, at the end of the quarter and has already signed on multiple customers with hundreds more in the pipeline. The new product line should generate material efficiencies for customers as it improves their ability to automate and digitize, and hence we expect broader adoption of the Pro Plus sku, creating an additional growth engine for ServiceNow, supporting the company’s long duration of growth.”
A software engineer at work, surrounded by a wall of computer monitors connected to a ‘Data Cloud’ platform.
ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) is in 24th position on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. At the end of the fourth quarter, ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) was held by 91 hedge fund portfolios, down from 99 in the previous quarter, according to our database.
We discussed ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) in another article and shared the list of best momentum stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2023 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
