Xponance Inc. Purchases Shares of 1,929 Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Xponance Inc. purchased a new stake in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 413,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,696,000 after purchasing an additional 5,839 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 4,480.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 397,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,484,000 after purchasing an additional 388,478 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 395,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,376,000 after purchasing an additional 35,454 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 390,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,024,000 after purchasing an additional 6,822 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 296,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,976,000 after purchasing an additional 42,160 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WD opened at $93.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.31 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.05 and a 200-day moving average of $90.92. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $61.06 and a fifty-two week high of $113.67.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.38. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $274.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $276.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. Walker & Dunlop’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. This is a boost from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush cut Walker & Dunlop from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $95.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,166 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.56, for a total transaction of $1,886,730.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 191,508 shares in the company, valued at $17,917,488.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Walker & Dunlop news, CFO Gregory Florkowski sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.45, for a total transaction of $385,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,809 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,978.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.56, for a total transaction of $1,886,730.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 191,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,917,488.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 46,074 shares of company stock worth $4,328,255. Company insiders own 5.47% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Profile

Walker & Dunlop, Inc, through its subsidiaries, originates, sells, and services a range of multifamily and other commercial real estate financing products and services for owners and developers of real estate in the United States. It operates through three segments: Capital Markets, Servicing & Asset Management, and Corporate.