Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) Stock Position Reduced by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP decreased its position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 77,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 530 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $8,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WD. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 2.6% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 44.5% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 205.6% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research raised Walker & Dunlop to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Wedbush raised their price target on Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Stephen P. Theobald sold 13,870 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.10, for a total value of $1,471,607.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 53,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,715,500.90. The trade was a 20.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 5.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE WD opened at $106.62 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.58. The stock has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.08 and a beta of 1.55. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.14 and a fifty-two week high of $118.19.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.10). Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.81% and a net margin of 8.91%. The company had revenue of $292.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $294.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is currently 92.86%.

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop, Inc, through its subsidiaries, originates, sells, and services a range of multifamily and other commercial real estate financing products and services for owners and developers of real estate in the United States. It operates through three segments: Capital Markets, Servicing & Asset Management, and Corporate.