New York State Common Retirement Fund Raises Position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $1,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WD. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the fourth quarter worth about $222,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 34,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,869,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $814,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voss Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Voss Capital LLC now owns 84,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,369,000 after purchasing an additional 12,165 shares during the period. 80.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE WD opened at $97.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.74 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $93.94 and its 200 day moving average is $92.39. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.51 and a 52 week high of $113.67.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $228.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.82 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 8.87% and a return on equity of 9.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WD. StockNews.com cut Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a 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 report on Friday, May 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walker & Dunlop news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,978.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Walker & Dunlop news, CFO Gregory Florkowski sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.45, for a total transaction of $385,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 11,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,978.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 4,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.33, for a total value of $441,196.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $898,063.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,607 shares of company stock valued at $2,893,252 over the last quarter. 5.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walker & Dunlop Company 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.