Hancock Whitney Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD)

Hancock Whitney Corp lessened its stake in Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD) by 49.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,891 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Walker & Dunlop by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,772,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,687,000 after acquiring an additional 27,670 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Walker & Dunlop by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,318,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,181,000 after acquiring an additional 90,725 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Walker & Dunlop by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,197,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $116,416,000 after acquiring an additional 8,683 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Walker & Dunlop by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 460,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,728,000 after acquiring an additional 8,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Walker & Dunlop during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,226,000. 80.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Walker & Dunlop from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

NYSE WD opened at $75.89 on Monday. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.59 and a fifty-two week high of $118.19. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.04. The stock has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.79 and a beta of 1.42.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.82 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Walker & Dunlop Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from Walker & Dunlop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Walker & Dunlop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO William M. Walker bought 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $86.21 per share, for a total transaction of $1,508,675.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 411,271 shares in the company, valued at $35,455,672.91. This trade represents a 4.44 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.