Carson Advisory Inc. Has $1.46 Million Position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Carson Advisory Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 850 shares during the period. Walker & Dunlop makes up 1.1% of Carson Advisory Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Carson Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $1,460,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $733,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.7% in the 3rd 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. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 1.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.56, for a total transaction of $1,886,730.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 191,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,917,488.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Gregory Florkowski sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.45, for a total value of $385,800.00. Following 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Howard W. Smith III sold 20,166 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.56, for a total value of $1,886,730.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 191,508 shares in the company, valued at $17,917,488.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,074 shares of company stock valued at $4,328,255 over the last quarter. 5.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WD. Wedbush lowered shares of Walker & Dunlop from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.00.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

WD stock traded up $1.47 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $94.23. 266,083 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 226,032. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $93.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.39. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a one year low of $61.06 and a one year high of $113.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.72 and a beta of 1.54.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 9.15%. The firm had revenue of $274.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $276.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is 81.76%.

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.