Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Up 1.6%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)’s share price rose 1.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $9.04 and last traded at $8.84. Approximately 3,397,367 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 16,371,164 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on WBA. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.73.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $9.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.07. 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 market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of -1.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.70.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.84%.

Institutional Trading of Walgreens Boots Alliance

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atlas Brown Inc. raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.8% in the first quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 31,593 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Shilanski & Associates Inc. raised 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 valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 32,085 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.1% during the first quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,335 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $810,000 after buying an additional 785 shares during the period. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 60.4% during the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

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.