Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Stake in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 7.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Walker & Dunlop worth $1,979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the 1st quarter valued at about $380,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the first quarter worth about $1,444,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.4% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 29,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,959,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walker & Dunlop during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Choreo LLC boosted its stake in Walker & Dunlop by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 4,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $464,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 4,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.33, for a total transaction of $441,196.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $898,063.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WD. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walker & Dunlop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Walker & Dunlop in a report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Walker & Dunlop Trading Down 0.4 %

WD stock traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $99.71. 295,249 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 194,144. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.39 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $96.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.15. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.51 and a 12-month high of $113.67.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $228.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $251.82 million. Walker & Dunlop had a net margin of 8.87% and a return on equity of 9.16%. The company’s revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.89%.

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.