Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Sells 545 Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lowered its position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 545 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Walker & Dunlop by 42.2% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 230.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the 4th quarter valued at about $178,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walker & Dunlop

In other news, CEO William M. Walker acquired 17,500 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $86.21 per share, with a total value of $1,508,675.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 411,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,455,672.91. The trade was a 4.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

Walker & Dunlop stock opened at $78.41 on Thursday. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.67 and a 52-week high of $118.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $85.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58 and a beta of 1.42.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released its quarterly 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). Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 9.64%. The business had revenue of $341.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.82 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Walker & Dunlop Profile

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.