American Century Companies Inc. Sells 33,936 Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Free Report) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 458,094 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 33,936 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 1.36% of Walker & Dunlop worth $44,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WD. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 42.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 391 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 3,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Synergy Financial Group LTD grew its stake 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 worth $977,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 2,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its position in Walker & Dunlop by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,308 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO William M. Walker bought 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $86.21 per share, with a total value of $1,508,675.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 411,271 shares in the company, valued at $35,455,672.91. The trade was a 4.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WD traded down $2.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $83.15. The stock had a trading volume of 211,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 192,207. The company's 50 day moving average price is $88.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.92. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.07 and a twelve month high of $118.19. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.07 and a beta of 1.63.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 9.64%. The firm had revenue of $341.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.82 million. Equities analysts forecast that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. This is a boost from Walker & Dunlop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Walker & Dunlop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.