Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Invests $17.38 Million in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 178,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,384,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned about 0.53% of Walker & Dunlop as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 42.2% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP grew its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 3,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Financial Group LTD raised its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Synergy Financial Group LTD now owns 8,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $977,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walker & Dunlop by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 2,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walker & Dunlop Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of WD opened at $84.00 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.27. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 26.33 and a beta of 1.63. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.07 and a 12-month high of $118.19.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.64% and a net margin of 9.55%. The business had revenue of $341.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.82 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. 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 3.19%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO William M. Walker purchased 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $86.21 per share, with a total value 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 approximately $35,455,672.91. This trade represents a 4.44 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Walker & Dunlop from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock in a research report 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.