Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Stock Price Down 0.2% After Analyst Downgrade

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) dropped 0.2% during trading on Tuesday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $13.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Walgreens Boots Alliance traded as low as $11.40 and last traded at $11.56. Approximately 6,279,908 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 14,500,520 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.58.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on WBA. UBS Group reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $35.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Barclays reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $11.00 price target (down from $22.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,150. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walgreens Boots Alliance

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

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.05. 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 market cap of $9.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.72.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $36.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.64%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is -14.84%.

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.