CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Sells 6,105 Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lowered its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD - Free Report) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 37,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,105 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.11% of Walker & Dunlop worth $3,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Walker & Dunlop by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,772,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $366,687,000 after purchasing an additional 27,670 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 7.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 460,122 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,728,000 after buying an additional 8,915 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the 4th quarter valued at $40,226,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Walker & Dunlop by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 348,456 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,873,000 after acquiring an additional 4,152 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.97% of the company's stock.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

Shares of WD traded down $1.03 on Thursday, hitting $75.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 128,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 192,456. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73 and a beta of 1.42. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.59 and a fifty-two week high of $118.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $81.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.56.

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

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from Walker & Dunlop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Walker & Dunlop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO William M. Walker bought 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $86.21 per share, with a total value of $1,508,675.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 411,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,455,672.91. This represents a 4.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.66% of the company's stock.

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.