Meritage Group LP Raises Stock Position in Workday, Inc. $WDAY

Key Points

• Meritage Group LP increased its stake in Workday by 16.1% to 1,489,253 shares (about 0.56% of the company), a position valued at roughly $358.5 million and representing ~10.2% of the fund's holdings.
• Workday posted an earnings beat—EPS $2.47 vs. $2.32 expected and revenue $2.53B (+14.5% YoY)—and carries a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $203 price target, even as several analysts have recently trimmed targets.
• Insiders have been net sellers (610,796 shares worth about $107M sold last quarter) and the stock trades at $134.45, significantly below its 50‑day and 200‑day moving averages, indicating downward pressure.

Meritage Group LP boosted its position in shares of Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY - Free Report) by 16.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,489,253 shares of the software maker's stock after buying an additional 206,821 shares during the quarter. Workday makes up about 10.2% of Meritage Group LP's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Meritage Group LP owned about 0.56% of Workday worth $358,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Workday in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Workday by 136.4% during the 2nd quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 130 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Workday during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Workday in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Workday by 211.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 187 shares of the software maker's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Workday from $270.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Macquarie Infrastructure reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Workday in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Workday from $204.00 to $182.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Workday from $280.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Workday in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Mark S. Garfield sold 953 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.56, for a total value of $199,710.68. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 35,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,405,012.16. The trade was a 2.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Zane Rowe sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total value of $1,252,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 159,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,224,232.50. This trade represents a 3.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 610,796 shares of company stock valued at $107,013,566. Insiders own 19.31% of the company's stock.

Workday Stock Up 0.2%

WDAY traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $134.45. The stock had a trading volume of 679,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,148,167. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $35.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's 50 day moving average is $166.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.73. Workday, Inc. has a one year low of $117.76 and a one year high of $276.00.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The software maker reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Workday had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 13.37%. The company's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.92 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Workday, Inc. will post 2.63 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.

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