Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $44.73 Million Position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 460,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,915 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.36% of Walker & Dunlop worth $44,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Walker & Dunlop by 42.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 3,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Financial Group LTD increased its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.7% in the third quarter. Synergy Financial Group LTD now owns 8,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Walker & Dunlop by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 28.4% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walker & Dunlop

In other news, CEO William M. Walker bought 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $86.21 per share, with a total value of $1,508,675.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 411,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,455,672.91. This trade represents a 4.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.47% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WD opened at $87.33 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.63. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.38 and a beta of 1.63. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.07 and a 52-week high of $118.19.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.18). Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 9.64%. The firm had revenue of $341.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.82 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th.

Walker & Dunlop Profile

Walker & Dunlop, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of commercial real estate and finance services. It operates through the following segments: Capital Markets, Servicing and Asset Management, and Corporate. The Capital Markets segment offers a comprehensive range of commercial real estate finance products to customers.