BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 9,505 Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its holdings in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Free Report) by 69.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,162 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,505 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 3,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,628,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 437,665 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,461 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the fourth quarter valued at about $231,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,197,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $116,416,000 after purchasing an additional 8,683 shares in the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on WD shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Walker & Dunlop from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of WD stock traded down $0.93 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $67.96. 147,656 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 199,379. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.48 and a 1-year high of $118.19. The company has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30 and a beta of 1.64. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $75.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.10.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $237.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.43 million. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.64% and a net margin of 9.55%. Walker & Dunlop's revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Walker & Dunlop's dividend payout ratio is currently 91.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO William M. Walker acquired 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $86.21 per share, with a total value 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 $35,455,672.91. The trade was a 4.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.