BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 9,505 Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 69.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,505 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WD. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Walker & Dunlop by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,772,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,687,000 after acquiring an additional 27,670 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 90,725 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,197,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $116,416,000 after buying an additional 8,683 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 460,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,728,000 after purchasing an additional 8,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 437,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,461 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WD shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO William M. Walker purchased 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $86.21 per share, for a total transaction 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.66% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of WD opened at $66.43 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82 and a beta of 1.64. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.48 and a 52-week high of $118.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $76.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.56.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.13). Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.64% and a net margin of 9.55%. The business had revenue of $237.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. Walker & Dunlop’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is 91.78%.

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.