Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $13.66 Million Stock Holdings in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 160,069 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,805 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.47% of Walker & Dunlop worth $13,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WD. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Walker & Dunlop in the first quarter worth $421,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Walker & Dunlop in the first quarter worth $27,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walker & Dunlop in the first quarter worth $22,363,000. Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Walker & Dunlop by 23.1% in the first quarter. Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC now owns 33,279 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,841,000 after purchasing an additional 6,240 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in Walker & Dunlop in the first quarter worth $219,000. 80.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on WD. Wall Street Zen cut Walker & Dunlop from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WD traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.70. 280,239 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 212,116. The firm has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92 and a beta of 1.54. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $70.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.80. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.48 and a 12 month high of $118.19.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $237.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $260.43 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The firm's revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Walker & Dunlop's payout ratio is presently 91.78%.

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.