Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA – Get Free Report) traded down 5.7% on Monday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $21.00 to $20.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the stock. Walgreens Boots Alliance traded as low as $20.42 and last traded at $20.46. 8,281,757 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 13,841,395 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.69.
Several other equities analysts also recently commented on WBA. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. SVB Leerink dropped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday, February 26th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday. Finally, HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and set a $20.00 target price (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.92.
Insider Transactions at Walgreens Boots Alliance
In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett purchased 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.44 per share, for a total transaction of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,992.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett bought 4,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.44 per share, for a total transaction of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,992.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy C. Wentworth bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.22 per share, with a total value of $242,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 585,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,171,654.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 104.6% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 36,922 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,752,000 after acquiring an additional 18,879 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 31.1% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 20,791 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $931,000 after acquiring an additional 4,931 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 27.9% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,569 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares in the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 63,483 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.2% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 467,533 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $20,932,000 after acquiring an additional 58,184 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 9.9 %
The company has a market cap of $16.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50-day moving average is $21.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.28.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.18% and a positive return on equity of 12.11%. The company had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Cuts Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.29%.
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.