Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 109,569 Walker & Dunlop, Inc. $WD

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 109,569 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,353,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of Walker & Dunlop as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 90.5% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 122.0% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 81.9% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 724 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walker & Dunlop

In other news, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 5,336 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.20, for a total transaction of $459,963.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,341 shares of the company's stock, valued at $805,194.20. The trade was a 36.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WD traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $86.28. 216,540 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 213,797. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.48 and a 1 year high of $118.19. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $79.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.63 and a beta of 1.59.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $319.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $275.84 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The business's revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Walker & Dunlop's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WD. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walker & Dunlop from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $92.50.

Walker & Dunlop 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.