Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,772,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 27,670 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.17% of Walker & Dunlop worth $366,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in Walker & Dunlop by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,227,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $139,474,000 after buying an additional 402,313 shares during the period. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 100.0% during the third quarter. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP now owns 150,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,038,000 after acquiring an additional 75,000 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 380.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,420,000 after purchasing an additional 44,748 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,469,000. Finally, Castleark Management LLC grew its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 45.1% in the third quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 61,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,947,000 after purchasing an additional 19,000 shares in the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

Shares of WD opened at $85.28 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $88.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.82. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.07 and a fifty-two week high of $118.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.73 and a beta of 1.63.

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

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is 84.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walker & Dunlop news, CEO William M. Walker acquired 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $86.21 per share, with a total value of $1,508,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 411,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,455,672.91. This trade represents a 4.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Walker & Dunlop

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.