Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Stock Price Up 2.9%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) was up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $9.03 and last traded at $8.99. Approximately 3,801,256 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 16,008,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on WBA shares. Barclays dropped their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on 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. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.73.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a PE ratio of -1.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.60 and a 200-day moving average of $15.32.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released 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). The company had revenue of $36.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.94 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 3.99% and a positive return on equity of 12.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.33%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is currently -14.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Atlas Brown Inc. grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 31,593 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 6,100 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Shilanski & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Shilanski & Associates Inc. now owns 11,821 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 32,085 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 6,757 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.