Walker & Dunlop, Inc. $WD Position Reduced by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Free Report) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,702,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 69,936 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.90% of Walker & Dunlop worth $316,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 160,069 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,663,000 after buying an additional 3,805 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 111.1% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 87,854 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,499,000 after purchasing an additional 46,229 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 100,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,746,000 after purchasing an additional 14,647 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the 1st quarter valued at about $219,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 122.0% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

WD traded down $0.7290 during trading on Thursday, hitting $82.8810. The company had a trading volume of 57,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 242,185. The company has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $74.86 and a 200-day moving average of $77.67. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.48 and a 1-year high of $118.19.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $319.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.84 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The company's revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Walker & Dunlop's payout ratio is presently 82.72%.

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.