SlateStone Wealth LLC Trims Stock Position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

SlateStone Wealth LLC lowered its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 63.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,048 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 413,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,696,000 after buying an additional 5,839 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 4,480.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 397,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,484,000 after purchasing an additional 388,478 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 395,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,376,000 after purchasing an additional 35,454 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 390,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,024,000 after purchasing an additional 6,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 296,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,976,000 after purchasing an additional 42,160 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

WD traded up $2.99 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $95.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 92,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 231,255. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $61.06 and a fifty-two week high of $113.67. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.03 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50-day moving average is $94.24 and its 200-day moving average is $90.45.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.38. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 10.18%. The company had revenue of $274.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $276.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.21 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a positive change from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.76%.

Insider Transactions at Walker & Dunlop

In related news, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total value of $1,876,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 191,508 shares in the company, valued at $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, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.09, for a total value of $179,523.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,791.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 191,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,965,365.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 46,074 shares of company stock worth $4,328,255. Company insiders own 5.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on WD shares. StockNews.com lowered Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Wedbush lowered Walker & Dunlop from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.00.

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.