Cerity Partners LLC Buys 1,752 Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 79.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,752 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WD. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 144.3% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $903,000 after purchasing an additional 5,430 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 3,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 17,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 15,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 377,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,062,000 after purchasing an additional 2,815 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on WD. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 11th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Walker & Dunlop to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th.

Walker & Dunlop Price Performance

WD stock opened at $108.79 on Monday. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.20 and a fifty-two week high of $118.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.85 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $110.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.75.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.10). Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 9.81%. The business had revenue of $292.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $294.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.86%.

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.