First Eagle Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 107.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,851 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $534,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,227,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $139,474,000 after buying an additional 402,313 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Walker & Dunlop in the third quarter valued at $19,843,000. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 100.0% during the third quarter. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP now owns 150,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,038,000 after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 380.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,420,000 after purchasing an additional 44,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,469,000. 80.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WD opened at $87.33 on Monday. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.07 and a 1-year high of $118.19. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.38 and a beta of 1.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $90.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.57.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last announced its earnings results 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 business 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This is an increase from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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 on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO William M. Walker bought 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 approximately $35,455,672.91. The trade was a 4.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.47% of the company’s stock.

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.