Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $129.57 Million Stock Position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,319,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,739 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $129,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WD. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 205.6% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 163.6% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the 1st quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the 2nd quarter valued at $94,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on Walker & Dunlop from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th.

Walker & Dunlop Trading Down 0.6 %

WD stock opened at $111.06 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $105.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.63. The stock has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 40.53 and a beta of 1.55. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.51 and a 1 year high of $113.67.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $270.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $274.50 million. Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 8.41%. The company’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. Walker & Dunlop’s payout ratio is 94.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Stephen P. Theobald sold 13,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.10, for a total value of $1,471,607.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 53,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,715,500.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Walker & Dunlop

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.