New York State Common Retirement Fund Boosts Position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 137.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,708 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.07% of Walker & Dunlop worth $2,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 42.2% in the third 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. Synergy Financial Group LTD lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 28.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 3.4% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Walker & Dunlop from $120.00 to $105.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

Walker & Dunlop Trading Up 1.0 %

Walker & Dunlop stock opened at $85.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.90 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $92.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.91. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.97 and a 52 week high of $118.19.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 9.64% and a net margin of 9.55%. The firm had revenue of $341.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.82 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. This is an increase from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.01%.

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.