Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $44.73 Million Stake in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 460,122 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,915 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.36% of Walker & Dunlop worth $44,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 230.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 3.8% during the 4th 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 348,456 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,873,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 7,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 137.5% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 23,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 13,708 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.97% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Walker & Dunlop

In other news, CEO William M. Walker purchased 17,500 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $86.21 per share, for a total transaction of $1,508,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 411,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,455,672.91. This represents a 4.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 5.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walker & Dunlop Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE WD traded up $2.39 on Friday, reaching $87.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 193,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 182,977. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 27.38 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $90.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.60. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.07 and a 52 week high of $118.19.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) 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). The business had revenue of $341.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.82 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 9.64%. Analysts anticipate 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 $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. This is a boost from Walker & Dunlop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Walker & Dunlop's payout ratio is presently 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.