Commerce Bank Cuts Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Commerce Bank cut its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,639 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 25,616 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WBA. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 98.8% in the second quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 6,021,126 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $72,826,000 after acquiring an additional 2,992,648 shares during the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,028,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the first quarter valued at $16,365,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the third quarter worth $5,252,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the second quarter valued at $6,642,000. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ WBA opened at $8.73 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $9.13 and a 200-day moving average of $11.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.87, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.08 and a 12 month high of $27.05.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.03. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.85% and a positive return on equity of 14.23%. The business had revenue of $37.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.45%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is -9.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WBA. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.88.

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.