M.D. Sass LLC Acquires 96,563 Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

M.D. Sass LLC boosted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 57.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 264,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 96,563 shares during the period. Walker & Dunlop accounts for 1.9% of M.D. Sass LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. M.D. Sass LLC owned about 0.78% of Walker & Dunlop worth $25,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 27,670 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,434,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $162,930,000 after purchasing an additional 18,461 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $139,474,000 after buying an additional 402,313 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 8,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Walker & Dunlop by 1.2% during the 4th 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 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 bought 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $86.21 per share, for a total transaction of $1,508,675.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.47% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of WD opened at $87.75 on Tuesday. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.07 and a 12 month high of $118.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $89.60 and its 200-day moving average is $100.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.51 and a beta of 1.63.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is a boost from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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 for the company 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.