Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) Position Reduced by Carson Advisory Inc.

Carson Advisory Inc. lowered its stake in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 850 shares during the period. Walker & Dunlop makes up about 1.1% of Carson Advisory Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Carson Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $1,460,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WD. CWM LLC raised its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 188.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 12,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $912,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 390,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,024,000 after acquiring an additional 6,822 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 33,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,515,000 after acquiring an additional 1,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

Shares of WD traded up $1.47 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $94.23. 266,083 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 226,032. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $93.91 and its 200 day moving average is $91.39. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.72 and a beta of 1.54. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.06 and a 1-year high of $113.67.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $274.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $276.76 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 9.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is 81.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total transaction of $1,876,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 191,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,965,365.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Gregory Florkowski sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.45, for a total value of $385,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 11,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,138,978.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total transaction of $1,876,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 191,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,965,365.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,074 shares of company stock worth $4,328,255 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Wedbush cut shares of Walker & Dunlop from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $95.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.00.

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.