There's an old saying on Wall Street about insider buying: there are many possible reasons to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy. Back on June 17, Walker & Dunlop Inc's Director, Dana L. Schmaltz, invested $90,163.80 into 1,000 shares of WD, for a cost per share of $90.16. Bargain hunters tend to pay particular attention to insider buys like this one, because presumably the only reason an insider would take their hard-earned cash and use it to buy stock of their company in the open market, is that they expect to make money. In trading on Friday, bargain hunters could buy shares of Walker & Dunlop Inc (Symbol: WD) and achieve a cost basis 1.0% cheaper than Schmaltz, with shares changing hands as low as $89.27 per share. It should be noted that Schmaltz has collected $0.60/share in dividends since the time of their purchase, so they are currently down 0.3% on their purchase from a total return basis. Walker & Dunlop Inc shares are currently trading off about 2% on the day. The chart below shows the one year performance of WD shares, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, WD's low point in its 52 week range is $88.20 per share, with $156.77 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $89.40. By comparison, below is a table showing the prices at which WD insider buying was recorded over the last six months:
| Purchased | Insider | Title | Shares | Price/Share | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06/17/2022 | Dana L. Schmaltz | Director | 1,000 | $90.16 | $90,163.80 |
The current annualized dividend paid by Walker & Dunlop Inc is $2.4/share, currently paid in quarterly installments, and its most recent dividend ex-date was on 08/17/2022. Below is a long-term dividend history chart for WD, which can be of good help in judging whether the most recent dividend with approx. 2.6% annualized yield is likely to continue.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
