XML Financial LLC Sells 4,908 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

XML Financial LLC cut its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,317 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 4,908 shares during the quarter. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 322,984 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,019,000 after acquiring an additional 56,725 shares in the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,215,000. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 83.4% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 385,600 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,455,000 after acquiring an additional 175,400 shares during the last quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the third quarter worth about $5,252,000. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 2,038,878 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $24,660,000 after purchasing an additional 198,891 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.88.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 3.5 %

WBA stock opened at $9.39 on Tuesday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.22 and a 12 month high of $27.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $9.18 and its 200 day moving average is $12.13. The company has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of -0.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $37.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.99%.

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.