Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,456 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,852 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.27% of Walker & Dunlop worth $8,793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 95,556 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,289,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,318,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $128,181,000 after buying an additional 90,725 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Walker & Dunlop during the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,625 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,046,000 after buying an additional 2,199 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Walker & Dunlop

In other Walker & Dunlop 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 411,271 shares in the company, valued at $35,455,672.91. This represents a 4.44 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

Shares of Walker & Dunlop stock traded up $2.45 on Wednesday, reaching $76.86. The company had a trading volume of 20,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 190,752. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09 and a beta of 1.42. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $82.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.87. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.59 and a 1 year high of $118.19.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.18). Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 9.64%. The business had revenue of $341.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.82 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Walker & Dunlop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Walker & Dunlop's payout ratio is currently 84.01%.

Walker & Dunlop Company 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.