Man Group plc Sells 28,008 Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Man Group plc trimmed its stake in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Free Report) by 41.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,373 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 28,008 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned 0.12% of Walker & Dunlop worth $3,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WD. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,226,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $17,384,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,338,000. M.D. Sass LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. M.D. Sass LLC now owns 264,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,747,000 after purchasing an additional 96,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,318,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $128,181,000 after purchasing an additional 90,725 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company's stock.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WD traded up $2.36 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.82. 220,616 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 199,586. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.48 and a 1-year high of $118.19. The company has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57 and a beta of 1.64. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $75.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.10.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 9.64% and a net margin of 9.55%. Walker & Dunlop's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Walker & Dunlop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO William M. Walker bought 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $86.21 per share, for a total transaction of $1,508,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 411,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,455,672.91. This represents a 4.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Walker & Dunlop from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th.

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.