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

M.D. Sass LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 57.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. 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 comprises 1.9% of M.D. Sass LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. M.D. Sass LLC’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $25,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Walker & Dunlop Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WD opened at $87.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.51 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.74.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $341.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.82 million. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.64% and a net margin of 9.55%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. 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. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.01%.

Insider Transactions at Walker & Dunlop

In other news, CEO William M. Walker acquired 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $86.21 per share, for a total transaction of $1,508,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 411,271 shares in the company, valued at $35,455,672.91. This represents a 4.44 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 5.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th.

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.