Corient Private Wealth LLC Reduces Holdings in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Corient Private Wealth LLC cut its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 35,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,449 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $3,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Walker & Dunlop during the 3rd quarter valued at about $19,843,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 72,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,252,000 after acquiring an additional 16,481 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Walker & Dunlop during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,568,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after acquiring an additional 2,362 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 21,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,389,000 after acquiring an additional 7,050 shares during the period. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walker & Dunlop

In other news, CEO William M. Walker bought 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $86.21 per share, with a total value of $1,508,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 411,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,455,672.91. The trade was a 4.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.47% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

NYSE WD opened at $85.69 on Friday. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.07 and a fifty-two week high of $118.19. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.91. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.86 and a beta of 1.63.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.82 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. This is a positive change from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded 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, 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.