Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Trims Stock Position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 264 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.05% of Walker & Dunlop worth $2,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WD. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 188.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.8% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 20,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.7% in the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 12,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $912,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.8% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 3.2% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 33,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.56, for a total value of $1,886,730.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 191,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,917,488.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Gregory Florkowski sold 4,000 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.45, for a total transaction of $385,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 11,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,138,978.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,166 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.56, for a total transaction of $1,886,730.96. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 191,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,917,488.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,074 shares of company stock valued at $4,328,255. Company insiders own 5.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Wedbush lowered shares of Walker & Dunlop from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE:WD opened at $92.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95 and a beta of 1.53. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $61.06 and a fifty-two week high of $113.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $94.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.63.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.38. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 9.15%. The business had revenue of $274.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $276.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This is an increase from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.76%.

About Walker & Dunlop

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.