Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 6.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 408 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,761,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $417,557,000 after acquiring an additional 10,743 shares during the period. Impactive Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 242.0% in the 1st quarter. Impactive Capital LP now owns 1,034,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,505,000 after purchasing an additional 731,714 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 377,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,062,000 after purchasing an additional 2,815 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,059,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 266,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,588,000 after buying an additional 36,639 shares during the period. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walker & Dunlop

In other news, COO Stephen P. Theobald sold 13,870 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.10, for a total value of $1,471,607.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 53,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,715,500.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

Shares of Walker & Dunlop stock opened at $111.06 on Friday. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.51 and a 1 year high of $113.67. The firm has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.53 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $105.22 and a 200 day moving average of $98.55.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.07. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 8.41% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The business had revenue of $270.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $274.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on WD shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on Walker & Dunlop from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th.

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.