O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Purchases 452 Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 452 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WD. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 42.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $178,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO William M. Walker purchased 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $86.21 per share, for a total transaction of $1,508,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 411,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,455,672.91. This trade represents a 4.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.66% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

WD opened at $78.41 on Thursday. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.67 and a fifty-two week high of $118.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.58 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $85.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.28.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last posted 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. This is a positive change from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is presently 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.