Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) Shares Sold by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lowered its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Free Report) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,105 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.11% of Walker & Dunlop worth $3,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $366,687,000 after buying an additional 27,670 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,318,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $128,181,000 after acquiring an additional 90,725 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Walker & Dunlop by 2.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 8,915 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Walker & Dunlop during the fourth quarter worth about $40,226,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,152 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company's stock.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

WD opened at $75.89 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $81.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.25. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.59 and a 12 month high of $118.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.79 and a beta of 1.42.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.18). The company 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 anticipate that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. This is a positive change from Walker & Dunlop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Walker & Dunlop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.01%.

Insider Transactions at Walker & Dunlop

In other Walker & Dunlop news, CEO William M. Walker bought 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired 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 owns 411,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,455,672.91. The trade was a 4.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th.

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.

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