Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 27,670 Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Free Report) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,772,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,670 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.17% of Walker & Dunlop worth $366,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position 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 worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 230.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,607 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the fourth quarter worth about $178,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in Walker & Dunlop by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walker & Dunlop news, CEO William M. Walker purchased 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $86.21 per share, for a total transaction of $1,508,675.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 411,271 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.66% of the company's stock.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

Shares of WD stock traded down $3.17 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $75.05. The company had a trading volume of 343,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 192,386. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.55 and a 1-year high of $118.19. The company has a 50 day moving average of $87.22 and a 200 day moving average of $99.09. The firm has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.53 and a beta of 1.42.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $341.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.82 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 9.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Walker & Dunlop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Walker & Dunlop's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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 on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th.

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.