LCM Capital Management Inc Buys New Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

LCM Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 10,795 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $131,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 57.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,061,021 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $630,334,000 after buying an additional 10,612,373 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter valued at $29,816,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the first quarter valued at approximately $16,365,000. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 1st quarter valued at about $13,710,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,519,845 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $170,233,000 after acquiring an additional 613,847 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $9.25 on Monday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.03 and a fifty-two week high of $27.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.01.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 negative net margin of 3.99% and a positive return on equity of 12.63%. The company had revenue of $36.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.81%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is -14.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of 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. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $35.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.46.

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.