American Century Companies Inc. Sells 33,936 Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

American Century Companies Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 458,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 33,936 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $44,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $178,000. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in Walker & Dunlop in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $292,000. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in Walker & Dunlop by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 79,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,694,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 107.8% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 5,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 2,851 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO William M. Walker purchased 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $86.21 per share, for a total transaction of $1,508,675.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 411,271 shares in the company, valued at $35,455,672.91. This trade represents a 4.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.66% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

Walker & Dunlop stock opened at $85.42 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $89.19 and a 200-day moving average of $100.40. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78 and a beta of 1.63. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.07 and a 1 year high of $118.19.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.18). The business 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 positive change from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.01%.

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 price target for the company in a research note 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.