Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 3,014 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,358 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 3,014 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 278,357 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $7,268,000 after purchasing an additional 95,828 shares during the period. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 115.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,775 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 952 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $273,000. Finally, Unison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 39,434 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 848 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

WBA traded up $0.31 on Friday, hitting $11.82. 14,503,093 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,245,074. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.12. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.69 and a twelve month high of $31.32. The firm has a market cap of $10.20 billion, a PE ratio of -1.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.72.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.05). Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.63% and a negative net margin of 3.99%. The company had revenue of $36.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.46%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBA has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $30.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.86.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Company Profile

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc operates as a healthcare, pharmacy, and retail company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Retail Pharmacy, International, and U.S. Healthcare. The U.S. Retail Pharmacy segment engages in operation of the retail drugstores, health and wellness services, specialty, and home delivery pharmacy services, which offers health and wellness, beauty, personal care and consumables, and general merchandise.