Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 2,101 Shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 27.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,101 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WD. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 42.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 230.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 28.4% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the 4th quarter worth about $229,000. Institutional investors own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walker & Dunlop

In other news, CEO William M. Walker bought 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 411,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,455,672.91. This trade represents a 4.44 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 5.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Walker & Dunlop Trading Up 0.9 %

WD stock opened at $86.49 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $89.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.08. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.07 and a 1 year high of $118.19. The stock has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 27.11 and a beta of 1.63.

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

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. This is an increase from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.01%.

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.