Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Stake in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its holdings in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $1,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WD. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 2.1% in the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $733,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 12,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Walker & Dunlop during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 2.3% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 12,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $949,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. 80.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walker & Dunlop

In related news, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total value of $1,876,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 191,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,965,365.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Walker & Dunlop news, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,000 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total transaction of $1,876,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 191,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,965,365.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 4,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.33, for a total transaction of $441,196.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $898,063.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,607 shares of company stock valued at $4,769,452. Insiders own 5.26% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

NYSE WD opened at $96.34 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $93.89 and a 200 day moving average of $92.36. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.16 and a beta of 1.54. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a one year low of $61.06 and a one year 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $251.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The firm 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 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 yield of 2.70%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WD. StockNews.com lowered Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Tuesday, March 26th.

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.