NFJ Investment Group LLC Cuts Stake in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

NFJ Investment Group LLC decreased its stake in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 34.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,029 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $2,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WD. Mariner LLC grew its position in Walker & Dunlop by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 59,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,347 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Walker & Dunlop during the 4th quarter worth $13,338,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 144,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,086,000 after buying an additional 17,103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Trading Down 0.6 %

WD stock opened at $73.66 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.09 and a beta of 1.42. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.59 and a twelve month high of $118.19.

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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.82 million. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.64% and a net margin of 9.55%. On average, research analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. This is a boost from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 84.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walker & Dunlop news, CEO William M. Walker bought 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 completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 411,271 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Walker & Dunlop from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock in a research 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.