KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $661,000 in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $661,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 48.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,227,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $139,474,000 after purchasing an additional 402,313 shares during the last quarter. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP raised its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP now owns 150,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,038,000 after acquiring an additional 75,000 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Walker & Dunlop by 380.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,420,000 after acquiring an additional 44,748 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Walker & Dunlop in the fourth quarter valued at $3,469,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 18.6% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 127,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,517,000 after purchasing an additional 20,037 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Walker & Dunlop from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

NYSE WD opened at $83.15 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $88.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.92. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a one year low of $81.07 and a one year high of $118.19. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07 and a beta of 1.63.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.18). Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 9.64%. The company had revenue of $341.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.82 million. Research analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This is a boost from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is currently 84.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walker & Dunlop news, CEO William M. Walker bought 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $86.21 per share, with a total value of $1,508,675.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 411,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,455,672.91. This represents a 4.44 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of commercial real estate and finance services. It operates through the following segments: Capital Markets, Servicing and Asset Management, and Corporate. The Capital Markets segment offers a comprehensive range of commercial real estate finance products to customers.