GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $29,000 in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WD. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Walker & Dunlop by 1.8% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 390,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,024,000 after buying an additional 6,822 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Walker & Dunlop by 14.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 133.3% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 2.1% during the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $733,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the third quarter worth $218,000. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WD. StockNews.com downgraded Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research report on Friday.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of WD stock opened at $97.57 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $93.87 and a 200-day moving average of $92.12. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.61 and a beta of 1.54. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 12-month low of $61.06 and a 12-month high of $113.67.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.36. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 8.87% and a return on equity of 9.16%. The firm had revenue of $228.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $251.82 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is 94.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walker & Dunlop

In other news, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 1,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.09, for a total transaction of $179,523.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,791.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Walker & Dunlop news, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 1,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.09, for a total value of $179,523.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,791.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Gregory Florkowski sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.45, for a total value of $385,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,809 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,978.05. 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. 5.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Walker & Dunlop

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.