Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) CEO William M. Walker acquired 17,500 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired 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 in the company, valued at $35,455,672.91. This trade represents a 4.44 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.
Walker & Dunlop Stock Up 2.2 %
Shares of WD stock opened at $85.99 on Friday. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.07 and a 12-month high of $118.19. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.96 and a beta of 1.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $91.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.38.
Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 9.64%. The firm had revenue of $341.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.82 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.
Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. 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 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Walker & Dunlop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.01%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walker & Dunlop
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 100,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,746,000 after acquiring an additional 14,647 shares during the last quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1,648.3% in the fourth quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 39,023 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,793,000 after acquiring an additional 36,791 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 138,814 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,494,000 after acquiring an additional 971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 2,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
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 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Walker & Dunlop
About Walker & Dunlop
(
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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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