Madison Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 96,659 Workday, Inc. $WDAY

Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 96,659 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $11,833,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Workday in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Workday during the third quarter worth about $26,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Workday in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Workday in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Workday in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Key Workday News

Here are the key news stories impacting Workday this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Workday launched Workday AI Research, a dedicated technical team focused on making enterprise AI more reliable, trustworthy, and efficient. The initiative targets challenges involving agent memory, collaboration, orchestration, and data deletion, potentially strengthening Workday’s competitive position in AI-powered HR, finance, and IT software. Workday Introduces AI Research Team
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced a PhD fellowship and plans to contribute peer-reviewed research and evaluation methods to the broader AI community. Investors may view the effort as evidence that Workday is investing seriously in long-term AI product development rather than relying solely on third-party technology. Workday Introduces AI Research Team Dedicated to Advancing Reliable, Trustworthy, and Efficient Enterprise AI
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage of the AI announcement described a sharp upward move in WDAY shares, indicating that the new research division was the primary immediate catalyst. Workday Stock Surges as Company Launches AI Research Division
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target from $140 to $205 but retained a Neutral rating, suggesting some additional valuation upside while signaling limited conviction at the stock’s elevated level. Bank of America Raises Workday Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment commentary highlighted potential for more than 30% margin expansion, while also warning that high valuations, concentrated demand, and aggressive AI investment assumptions create risks. Workday Margin Potential Commentary
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported interest from Silver Lake has fueled speculation about software-sector consolidation, but the potential transaction remains unconfirmed and could increase volatility. Analyst Lists Reasons Tech M&A May Accelerate
• Negative Sentiment: BTIG lowered Workday to Neutral, while Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to Hold. Analysts cited valuation concerns and caution after the recent rally. BTIG Lowers Workday Rating Deutsche Bank Downgrades Workday

Insider Activity

In other Workday news, CAO Mark S. Garfield sold 918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.19, for a total value of $130,530.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 73,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,481,962.42. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Gerrit S. Kazmaier sold 2,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.62, for a total transaction of $391,795.36. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 266,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,258,644.56. The trade was a 1.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 875,020 shares of company stock worth $113,938,503. Company insiders own 18.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDAY has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Workday in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Workday in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Workday from $140.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Workday in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Workday in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Workday has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.17.

Workday Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WDAY opened at $198.42 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $147.58 and its 200-day moving average is $139.14. Workday, Inc. has a 1-year low of $110.36 and a 1-year high of $249.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $49.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.08.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The software maker reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.15. Workday had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Workday, Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Workday Company Profile

Workday, Inc (NASDAQ: WDAY) is a provider of cloud-based enterprise applications focused on human capital management (HCM) and financial management. Founded in 2005 by Dave Duffield and Aneel Bhusri following their tenure at PeopleSoft, the company develops software-as-a-service solutions that help organizations manage workforce and financial processes in a unified, cloud-native environment. Workday’s platform emphasizes continuous updates, data security, and a configurable architecture aimed at large and mid-sized enterprises.

The company’s product portfolio centers on Workday Human Capital Management and Workday Financial Management, with additional offerings for payroll, talent management, workforce planning and analytics.