Deutsche Bank AG Buys 8,879 Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 102,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,879 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.30% of Walker & Dunlop worth $10,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,226,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,384,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,338,000. M.D. Sass LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. M.D. Sass LLC now owns 264,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,747,000 after acquiring an additional 96,563 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,318,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,181,000 after acquiring an additional 90,725 shares during the last quarter. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:WD opened at $73.82 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $78.28 and a 200 day moving average of $91.27. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.59 and a 52 week high of $118.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14 and a beta of 1.64.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.13). Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 9.64%. The firm had revenue of $237.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $260.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO William M. Walker acquired 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $86.21 per share, for a total transaction of $1,508,675.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 411,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,455,672.91. This trade represents a 4.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 3.66% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Company 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.