Eastern Bank Takes $33,000 Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,634 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 57.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,061,021 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $630,334,000 after acquiring an additional 10,612,373 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 98.8% during the 2nd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 6,021,126 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $72,826,000 after acquiring an additional 2,992,648 shares in the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,028,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 1st quarter valued at about $16,365,000. Finally, Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 1st quarter valued at about $13,710,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 0.9 %

Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $9.26 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.22 and a twelve month high of $27.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.82. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.37, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.70.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.03. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 14.23% and a negative net margin of 5.85%. The company had revenue of $37.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.80%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.88.

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.