O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Buys 452 Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,772,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,687,000 after buying an additional 27,670 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,434,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $162,930,000 after buying an additional 18,461 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 460,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,728,000 after buying an additional 8,915 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walker & Dunlop in the fourth quarter worth $40,226,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 348,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,873,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152 shares during the period. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walker & Dunlop Trading Up 6.2 %

Walker & Dunlop stock opened at $78.41 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58 and a beta of 1.42. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 1-year low of $70.67 and a 1-year high of $118.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.28.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $341.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.82 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 9.64%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO William M. Walker acquired 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $86.21 per share, with a total value of $1,508,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 411,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,455,672.91. The trade was a 4.44 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.66% of the company’s stock.

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.