Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) Shares Acquired by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 206 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WD. Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in Walker & Dunlop in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,297,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Walker & Dunlop in the 1st quarter valued at about $795,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 144.3% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 5,430 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,319,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,566,000 after purchasing an additional 20,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Walker & Dunlop in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,444,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Stephen P. Theobald sold 13,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.10, for a total transaction of $1,471,607.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 53,869 shares in the company, valued at $5,715,500.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on WD shares. StockNews.com upgraded Walker & Dunlop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 11th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded Walker & Dunlop to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of WD opened at $115.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.61 and a beta of 1.55. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.51 and a 52-week high of $116.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $107.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.87.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $270.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.50 million. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 8.41%. The business’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is currently 100.39%.

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop, Inc, through its subsidiaries, originates, sells, and services a range of multifamily and other commercial real estate financing products and services for owners and developers of real estate in the United States. It operates through three segments: Capital Markets, Servicing & Asset Management, and Corporate.