Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 2,101 Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 27.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,101 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WD. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,434,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $162,930,000 after purchasing an additional 18,461 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 402,313 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 460,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,728,000 after purchasing an additional 8,915 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 348,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,873,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152 shares during the period. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $19,843,000. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

Shares of WD opened at $86.49 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.11 and a beta of 1.63. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a one year low of $81.07 and a one year high of $118.19. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.08.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is an increase from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO William M. Walker purchased 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $86.21 per share, with a total value of $1,508,675.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 411,271 shares in the company, valued at $35,455,672.91. This trade represents a 4.44 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 5.47% of the company’s stock.

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.