Cerity Partners LLC Sells 1,554 Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 39.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,554 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 230.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Walker & Dunlop by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $178,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in Walker & Dunlop by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the fourth quarter valued at $211,000. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on 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 Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE WD opened at $76.74 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.49. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.59 and a 12-month high of $118.19. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06 and a beta of 1.42.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $341.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.82 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 9.64%. On average, equities analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. This is a boost from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO William M. Walker acquired 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $86.21 per share, with a total value of $1,508,675.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 411,271 shares in the company, valued at $35,455,672.91. The trade was a 4.44 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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.