Swiss National Bank Boosts Stock Holdings in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Swiss National Bank grew its position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.20% of Walker & Dunlop worth $6,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WD. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in 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 worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 230.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Walker & Dunlop by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Walker & Dunlop during the fourth quarter worth about $229,000. 80.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walker & Dunlop

In related news, CEO William M. Walker bought 17,500 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $86.21 per share, with a total value of $1,508,675.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 411,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,455,672.91. This represents a 4.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.47% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

WD stock opened at $85.69 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $89.58 and a 200-day moving average of $100.91. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.07 and a fifty-two week high of $118.19. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.86 and a beta of 1.63.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last issued 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 business had revenue of $341.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.82 million. Equities analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. This is a positive change from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is currently 84.01%.

Walker & Dunlop Company Profile

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.