JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Holdings in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Free Report) by 111.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 153,539 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 80,890 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.45% of Walker & Dunlop worth $14,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WD. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 230.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the 4th quarter worth approximately $687,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 380.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,520 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,420,000 after purchasing an additional 44,748 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in Walker & Dunlop by 137.5% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 23,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,302,000 after buying an additional 13,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 19,631 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,908,000 after acquiring an additional 1,188 shares during the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO William M. Walker purchased 17,500 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:WD traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $73.65. 81,225 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 192,473. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.59 and a twelve month high of $118.19. The business has a 50-day moving average of $83.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.19. The company has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09 and a beta of 1.42.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $341.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.82 million. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.64% and a net margin of 9.55%. On average, research analysts forecast that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS 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. This is an increase from Walker & Dunlop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Walker & Dunlop's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.01%.

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 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th.

Walker & Dunlop 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.