ARGA Investment Management LP Has $728,000 Stake in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its stake in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 52.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,469 shares during the quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop in the fourth quarter valued at about $667,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,761,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $417,557,000 after purchasing an additional 10,743 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the fourth quarter worth about $307,000. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its holdings in Walker & Dunlop by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 15,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,750,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. StockNews.com cut Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Friday, May 3rd.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WD traded down $0.49 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $94.39. 19,773 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 198,551. The business’s 50 day moving average is $95.32 and its 200-day moving average is $96.83. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.12 and a beta of 1.54. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.51 and a 1-year high of $113.67.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.36. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 8.87% and a return on equity of 9.16%. The company had revenue of $228.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. Walker & Dunlop’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio is 94.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walker & Dunlop

In other Walker & Dunlop news, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 4,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.33, for a total transaction of $441,196.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $898,063.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.47% of the company’s stock.

Walker & Dunlop Company Profile

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.