Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Trading Up 3.5%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)’s share price rose 3.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $12.67 and last traded at $12.62. Approximately 17,238,873 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 22% from the average daily volume of 14,099,389 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $11.00 target price (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Friday. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.64.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 0.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $10.43 billion, a PE ratio of -1.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $16.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.17.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $36.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.27%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.84%.

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at $3,235,859.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan acquired 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,235,859.22. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBA. Highlander Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the period. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Walgreens Boots Alliance

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.