Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Buys Shares of 178,830 Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 178,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $17,384,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned approximately 0.53% of Walker & Dunlop as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,772,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $366,687,000 after acquiring an additional 27,670 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,434,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $162,930,000 after purchasing an additional 18,461 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Walker & Dunlop by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,227,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $139,474,000 after buying an additional 402,313 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 460,122 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,728,000 after buying an additional 8,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 348,456 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,873,000 after buying an additional 4,152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Walker & Dunlop

In other Walker & Dunlop news, CEO William M. Walker bought 17,500 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 $35,455,672.91. This represents a 4.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE WD traded up $1.86 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $84.97. 62,943 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 191,700. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $88.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.92. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.07 and a twelve month high of $118.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.64 and a beta of 1.63.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) 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). The business had revenue of $341.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.82 million. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.64% and a net margin of 9.55%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. This is an increase from Walker & Dunlop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Walker & Dunlop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded 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 research report 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.